Sorcerer’s Handbook

“They should have seen my message by now…”

Seated in the back of Miss’s luxury car, Ashe scrolled through the dial, summoning his Gospel. He flipped to the  Sorcerer Handbook  interface, where the current  Team Composition  was displayed under “Exploration in Virtual Realm”:

“Team Composition: Death Maniac Swordswoman, Black-and-White Witch”

“Location: Time Continent”

“Status: Exploring”

Before leaving home, Ashe had arranged for the two of them to embark on the Exploration in Virtual Realm.

Of course, even without his arrangement, the two would have ventured into the exploration on their own. However, having received Ashe’s approval, the swordswoman duo were allowed to use his sports car.

However, the Map seemed to be bound to Ashe’s gaming system and could not be lent to them.

And similar to the  Swordswoman’s Leave Request , although Ashe was not part of the team, a share of the team’s spoils still had to be allocated to him. Thirty percent of the arcane energy experience earned by the swordswoman and the witch would be shared with Ashe, and they might trigger special mechanisms that would benefit him.

If he wished, he could avoid entering the Virtual Realm altogether, relying solely on the gains from the swordswoman and witch to grow stronger!

But as Ashe decided not to join the exploration that evening, the game issued a reminder: “Interacting with Operators is crucial for maintaining Bond Levels. If Operators perceive that you are avoiding meetings, it could gradually decrease their favorability towards you, leading to a reduction in Bond Level.”

Only then did Ashe realize that the game’s favorability was fluctuating, not fixed once it increased. This meant that taking a leave or two might be fine, but constantly avoiding work and distancing himself from the group could lead to dissatisfaction among the frontline workers.

No, working was for earning, but Ashe entered the Virtual Realm primarily to enhance his Bonds with the Operators.

Rather than calling it work, it felt more like… team building?

Realizing this, Ashe suddenly developed a reluctance to enter the Virtual Realm.

Ying—

With a slight vibration, the hovercar switched lanes, yet Ashe remained as steady as Mount Tai. He looked at Annan in the driver’s seat and swiftly brought his thoughts back to reality.

Although Harvey and Igor had not breathed a word about it, the nature of the tasks associated with people like them could only be related to gang vendettas, trickery, robbery, and theft, given their narrow range of operations which a single criminal code could encompass.

Despite Ashe’s usual calm demeanor, he had secretly investigated Azura’s underworld forces primarily through online games. Many helpful folks from Azura had educated him that there were ten major underworld forces in the region, known as “One Palace, Two Firms, Three Families, Four Major Companies.”

The ‘One Palace’ referred to the Mermaid Palace. The sea demon race, dubbed the ‘Sewer Royalty’ of the Gospel Kingdom, had chain stores in major cities. Nearly all murders, smuggling, drug trafficking, and race trading had to pass through the sea demons’ approval, making them the undisputed leaders of the underworld.

‘Two Firms’ meant the top two firms in the Azura Sub-Ranking, both squeezing into the top ten of the General Ranking. Firms like the one Annan represented, which were pushed out of the top ten of the sub-ranking, ended up taking the leftover cases that others passed on.

‘Three Families’ were ancient families deeply rooted in the Azura region. Ashe didn’t remember their specific surnames or emblems, but he did remember that they intermarried among themselves and their connections were deeply entrenched in departments like Bluebeard, Red Cap, and the Government Affairs Hall, even the mayor hailed from one of these families.

The ‘Four Major Companies’ were four enterprises that accounted for over 75% of Azura’s GDP and had also made it into the national corporate rankings, considered too big to fail. Although closely related to the Three Families, with almost all having received investments from them, the relationship between the two remained complicated due to the inherent contradictions between capital and feudal systems. After all, capital naturally resists such feudalistic structures, and it would be naive to think that early investments could control a successful company.

Thus, as Ashe sat in Annan’s car, he wondered which of the ten major underworld forces they were going to confront. When they reached their destination, even the well-prepared Ashe was stunned by the sight of this underworld stronghold.

Azura No.4 High School

“This is…”

“No.4 High School, you can just call it No.4 High.”

Annan stepped out of the car, pressed the car key, and the hovercar went to find a parking spot on its own.

Although it’s called a high school, No.4 High School looks more like a business center. Each floor radiates a warm, bright light, and the glass revolving doors are wide open, with no security measures in place nor guards to check visitors.

Ashe followed Annan inside, and his impression changed once again. There were no classrooms as one might expect, nor any sounds of teaching. Through the windows, Ashe saw rooms filled with coffin-like pods, fully enclosed, each with a three-dimensional projection displaying the name and information of the person inside.

Rather than a classroom, it seemed more like a laboratory engaged in human experiments.

However, these fully enclosed pods looked familiar to Ashe. “They resemble the virtual game pods you often play in, don’t they?” Annan said. “Or rather, the game pods resemble these.”

Ashe paused for a moment, then realized, “Right, if consciousness immersion technology has already been applied to private virtual gaming, then it must have been adopted in more crucial fields like education, medicine, and experimentation!”

“Before I was born, ‘Education Pods’ had already become the mainstay of basic education,” Annan explained. “Except for Sorcerer colleges, which still employ teachers, elementary and secondary education no longer require them. Most people start their customized education plans in Education Pods from the age of five. It’s said to be a wonderful experience—you’ll have a teacher who perfectly suits you in every aspect. They understand all your thoughts and feelings, use the most ingenious methods, and create the most comfortable scenarios to make you fall in love with learning.”

“By the time you reach secondary education, you begin to discover your own Talents, from jump rope to marksman, from hair styling to fashion design, from biological research to civil engineering… Whether you’ve encountered these fields before or not, the Education Pods strive to unearth your hidden Talents, allowing you to explore the limits of your abilities within just a few years.”

“Wait, are you saying that Education Pods can tailor education to each individual?” Ashe asked, puzzled. “That sounds like…”

“Just as you thought,” Annan said, “the Education Pod utilizes the big data analysis from the Gospel. Don’t be surprised. Most high-tech enterprises make use of the Gospel’s big data — the seamless flow of high-speed traffic we saw on the way here and the orderly drones in the sky are all powered by this data analysis, which is why the city’s lifeblood flows like art.”

“Banjeet mentioned that you and Mr. Harvey seem to have some reservations about our education system, believing that families without Points will be far behind those with Points reserves.”

Annan glanced around the room filled with hundreds of Education Pods: “But in reality, until your Talent is recognized by the Virtual Realm, the Gospel won’t charge you a penny in tuition.”

Ashe, however, caught on to a word she had used earlier: “Supposedly?”

“Yes,” Annan flicked her Amethyst Earring, “I never went to school.”

“The majority of wealthy people do not partake in the basic education provided by the Gospel Kingdom.”

“Why not?”

“Because basic education isn’t free. If you want to receive basic education, you have to Sign a Contract and pay a price.”

“What price?”

“Lifelong education.”

Ashe was puzzled, “Lifelong education is a price?”

Annan nodded, pointing to a mature woman who had just emerged from an Education Pod in the next room: “Depending on age, each person has a certain educational time quota per year. It’s most intensive during youth, practically requiring daily classes. After reaching adulthood and starting work, the educational time is significantly reduced, but you still have to attend at least 60 hours of courses per month.”

“The adult courses offer a lot of freedom; you can learn anything you want, whether it’s stacking blocks, playing the harmonica, makeup techniques, or appreciating Shadow Drama… as long as your brain absorbs new knowledge, it offsets the educational time.”

Ashe blinked, “Isn’t that… a good thing?”

“I never said it wasn’t a good thing,” Annan replied, nodding slightly to the mature woman as she passed by, then ascending the stairs, “The Gospel Kingdom has sustained a technology boom for Thirty Years, and the lifelong education system has contributed a lot to this.”

“Why do wealthy people not participate in basic education?”

“Why don’t you want to be employed by me for life, insisting on reducing the time to 101 days?” Annan retorted.

“That’s a false analogy,” Ashe immediately countered. “How can serving you as a beast of burden be compared to lifelong education? One is like eating dirt, the other like having a meal!”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re serving me as a beast of burden right now,” Annan raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m the dirt?”

“No, no, no, I am the dirt, you’re the one dining.”

Annan was momentarily amused by his response, forgetting where she had left off. After a moment she continued, “Just like you’re unwilling to accept a lifetime Contract, if we had the choice, we wouldn’t accept the lifelong shackles either. My Family would rather have Banjeet tutor me than sign a Contract for basic education.”

“By the way, the Gospel Kingdom also offers another lifelong Contract, or rather a benefit—lifelong labor. If you sign a contract with the Labor Security Bureau, you’ll receive the average social salary even when unemployed, but in return, the Bureau will assign you suitable employment.”

“Of course, the job must meet the three basic principles: good pay, light duties, and close to home, and it absolutely must align with your interests, because job assignments also rely on data analysis from the Gospel. If there are no suitable jobs, the Gospel would rather you stay home and collect unemployment benefits.”

“However, long-term unemployment is rare because all enterprises must comply with the planning of the Labor Security Bureau. The enterprises themselves only staff 10% of their workforce; the remaining 90% must be provided by the Labor Security Bureau. This policy still operates healthily to this day, proving that the quality of the 90% of employees likely surpasses that of the 10% recruited by the companies themselves.”

Lifelong education, lifelong labor, then…

Ashe looked a bit puzzled: “There wouldn’t also be a lifelong love Contract, would there?”

Annan shook her head with a smile: “How could that be… right, the Gospel can indeed help you find a perfect match—if you saved the world in your past life.”

“Yet, most of the time, the Gospel can uncover Treasures buried deep underground, determine the weight of the sun, and calculate the rhythms of the moon, but it just can’t provide us with a perfect love,” Annan explained.

“But…” Annan’s lips curled into a subtle smile, “if you’re just choosing the most suitable partner from those you know, the Gospel can still help you.”

“Love is a luxury, but marriage is not, and lifelong marriages are common here. While not mandatory, most people marry the most suitable person within their social network after completing their secondary education at age 17. Then, following the Gospel’s guidance, they mate at the optimal times to have the healthiest babies… It has been proven that those who follow this path achieve happiness.”

“Appropriate education, suitable job, right partner. If life had a difficulty setting, then by signing three lifelong Contracts, you’d switch to easy mode—just listen quietly to the Gospel and the world opens its most accommodating side to you.”

“Uncovering hidden Talents, finding a job that may not be grand but fulfills one’s life value, having a partner who may not be perfect but with whom you share deep affection… Ashe found himself envying this, needing to read several inspirational posts shared by his manager just to cope.”

And all these blessings are just the basic social security for most people in the Gospel.

“If a normal life under the Gospel is like playing on ‘easy mode,’ then Ashe’s previous life was at least on ‘hard mode,’ designed for those who the creators suggest should not pick this difficulty on their first attempt at life.”

“This lifetime is even more daunting, like starting with a ‘harder start’ mod where all enemies are enhanced.”

Looking back now, Ashe realized that his beginning was like being attacked by Gerard, a Sorcerer of the Tri-wings Sanctuary—a high-level player striking from another dimension. If any game dared to start like that, it would be guaranteed to receive a refund request within two hours.

However…

Ashe, puzzled, asked, “All this sounds quite good, doesn’t it? What are you dissatisfied with?”

“I’m not dissatisfied,” Annan said with a smile. “On the contrary, I’m grateful for this system. It’s precisely because the melody of the Gospel is so harmonious that a discordant note like me stands out so starkly.”

“We’re here.”

They arrived on the third floor and stopped outside a room. Miss pointed to Education Pod 15 inside: “That’s my target, an Orc Sorcerer, but a Production Sorcerer with no combat ability whatsoever. Now it’s your turn, Ashe.”

Ashe looked around: “You want me to kill someone in a school?”

“Of course not, our Firm is a law-abiding good citizen,” Annan replied. “Just pull him out and give him a beating to make him leave. This is a task specifically prepared for you.”

“Ah? Why is my task this?”

“Because your other two companions don’t seem like the kind to stop easily. They are more suited for services that lead to death or serious injury.”

Ashe didn’t immediately argue with Annan. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly remembered the ‘Bullhide’ spirit he had acquired in the Virtual Realm. Clearly a spirit from the Physical Faction, it could temporarily enhance his defense, so Ashe had kept it without integrating it into the system yet.

He activated the ‘Bullhide’ spirit to boost his defense, and his skin, pale with a hint of pink, took on a faint bronze tint. Then, putting on the mask given by Igor, his appearance resembled that of a well-fed street thug with nothing better to do.

“Is he a bad guy?” Ashe suddenly asked.

“Not really,” Annan glanced at him. “He just cares a lot about his reputation.”

Ashe said no more and entered the room. Next to the Education Pod, he found an emergency call button. After pressing it, Pod 15 quickly opened to both sides.

A medium-sized Orc emerged, looking bewilderedly at Ashe: “Who are you?”

Ashe: ”   “

The Orc, both shocked and delighted: “Really? My father died a few years ago, and my mother hasn’t found a new partner. She would definitely like you.”

Ashe: ”   “

The Orc scratched his head: “Haha, I’m not very bright. Even coming here to learn, I’m more about the technical side; I can’t understand the theory.”

Ashe fell into contemplation, eventually tiptoeing to pat the Orc on the head.

“Why aren’t you wearing a hat?”

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