Sorcerer’s Handbook

The good news was that Annan didn’t say those words because she heard Ashe’s blasphemous remarks.

The bad news was that Annan was serious.

“The second Future Ranking has two key factors: Love and Family.”

Annan said concisely, “So, do you understand now?”

Although compared to the Blood Moon Kingdom, the air in the Gospel Kingdom was filled with the sweetness of love. Actually, there’s no need for hypotheticals—since the National Friendly Cities Ranking was first published, Vamora has consistently been the undisputed most loving city in the country. This honor is expected to bring each Vamora citizen an annual gain of 5 Gospel Points.

If the second ranking requires Love and Family, then they were indeed in the right place.

“No, I still don’t get it.”

Harvey walked to the window, holding a cigarette made from catnip. A wisp of grayish-white smoke rose slowly: “Why do we need to fall in love?”

“Because that’s the shortcut for you to gain Love and Family,” Annan replied. “For you guys, who have no past, as long as you put in a little effort to climb over the hill, the Gospel will mistakenly think you’re about to traverse mountains and rivers.”

“The same goes for Love and Family. It’s impossible for you to have your own family or find a deep, passionate love in just a few days. But as long as you show your longing for Love and Family, the Gospel Book will naturally acknowledge your sincerity.”

“Very logical deduction,” Ashe said. “But here’s the problem—falling in love is generally, probably, maybe, supposed to be an activity involving more than one person, right? Is the lady of the house finally going to grant us employee benefits, one girlfriend each?”

“That’s the part where you need to put in the effort,” Annan said, adjusting her earring. “I’ve already bought you tickets to the stage. What kind of performance you can put on depends on your abilities.”

“So, you’re saying we need to find someone willing to fall in love with us in this highly exclusive, materially indifferent, and pre-engaged community of Vamora?” Ashe was puzzled. “I think internal solutions among us might be more practical.”

“Is it the Family Rebirth Dream?” Igor suddenly asked.

Annan glanced at him. “Looks like you didn’t waste your day… Yes, I’m not asking you to find someone to fall in love with in reality, but to participate in love matching directly in the Family Rebirth Dream.”

“Love matching?” Ashe keenly noticed the terminology difference. “It sounds like a social gathering full of complex competitive games and hidden conflicts.”

“Though I don’t know why you think that way, I can assure you that love matching is much simpler than you imagine,” Annan replied. “Let me put it this way: with the same amount of interaction time, in reality, you might only get a stranger’s contact information, but in the Family Rebirth Dream, you might have already kissed or even been intimate.”

“As mentioned before, the Family Rebirth Dream is a place where every clansman needs to log in daily. They need to exhaust excessive positive emotions there to avoid permanently raising their threshold. To help clansmen quickly deplete positive emotions, the Family Rebirth Dream is almost unrestricted. You can do anything you want in there.”

“If you want to play submissive, there are plenty of sadistic interrogators to find. If you want to sing, you’ll encounter countless listeners. If you want to kill, there are Battle Royale games happening at any time… Do you know how many Senhaeser clansmen there are? A full seven figures. With such a massive base, the craziness you can imagine is likely less than one-tenth of what’s in the Family Dream.”

“In the Family Dream, activities like love, which are popular, are almost as simple as teaming up with a stranger in a virtual game. There’s no need for any prelude; you can jump straight into the most intense parts as soon as you meet.”

Annan twirled her fingers, turning an ordinary gesture into something sensuous. “I’m not setting a difficult task for you. On the contrary, this mission is much easier than finding your way here.”

“In the Dream, you can freely set your appearance—race, gender, age, none of these are obstacles anymore. Likewise, everyone you meet there is an art piece meticulously crafted with great effort, encompassing all the types you like. Coupled with the anonymity in the Dream, you can imagine how wild it can get.”

Anonymous identities, transformed appearances, and free scenarios.

Except for Igor, who had some understanding, everyone else was dumbfounded.

Even though they tried their best, they couldn’t imagine how chaotic the Family Dream could be.

Ashe and Lise, listening on the side, huddled together, trembling.

Banjeet walked over to Harvey, lit a second catnip cigarette, and added, “The Senhaeser clansmen don’t care about reality, not just because the Beauty Mist keeps them physiologically happy forever, but also because the Family Rebirth Dream satisfies all their sordid desires. To them, the Family Rebirth Dream is the real world, and reality is the worthless dream.”

“The people living in this city,” the young butler said, overlooking the urban sprawl outside, “are almost all pathetic animals stamped with the ‘Family’ mark.”

“Seems like you have something on your mind,” Igor said. “Feel free to speak up. After all, besides me, you also need to take care of our other colleagues who aren’t too bright.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ashe said sympathetically, looking at Harvey, who returned the same look to Ashe.

“I’m afraid you might get completely sucked in and become one of the Senhaeser,” Banjeet said bluntly. “Honestly, I only learned the details of the lady’s plan today, and I’m against it. The Family Rebirth Dream has a powerful assimilating ability. For those of you who haven’t experienced love, it’s like a primitive tribe encountering a modern army, a small workshop facing a factory production line—it’s a temptation you can hardly resist.”

“Thank you very much for the warning, Mr. Banjeet, but your tone seems to be filled with too much emotion. Do you have some personal experience you’d like to share with us?” Igor pressed on without hesitation, like someone who had just pried open the edge of a can and was ready to plunge in.

Annan also looked at Banjeet with some confusion.

Banjeet was silent for a moment. “Miss, I took care of you in Senhaeser when you were a child. That wasn’t actually on your father’s orders.”

“Then…?”

“It was Lady Qenna’s request,” Banjeet said. “Back then, my name was Banjeet Senhaeser. After Lady Qenna and your father separated, I followed her and defected to the Dolan Family.”

Ashe was shocked. “A servant loyal to three families?”

Banjeet gave him an annoyed glance.

“The Dolan Family has greatly benefited me, and your father treated me like family. However, whether it’s ‘gratitude’ or ‘love,’ these are intangible feelings that exist only in the heart. Since hearts cannot directly touch, there are insurmountable barriers between people.”

Banjeet continued, “But the existence of the Family Rebirth Dream breaks those barriers, allowing everyone’s hearts to intertwine directly, letting everyone experience the inner world of strangers firsthand.”

“Things like love, listening, communicating, and playing are just its manifestations. The real terror lies in emotions becoming tangible entities. Everyone’s interactions are genuine; there’s no pretense. This is why the family is solid as a rock, and this is the frightening aspect of Familial Love.”

“Anyone who has experienced this cannot leave the family-just as you would struggle to accept a chaotic, dirty den after living in a clean, rule-abiding city.”

“Miss, you have never experienced the complete Family Rebirth Dream. All minors can only stay in their own dream and don’t have the ‘network’ function unlocked, and you left Senhaeser before you came of age.”

“If I had known about your plan earlier, I would have definitely tried to stop you. Vamora is the final form of the family, and ordinary people simply cannot escape this sweet prison.”

“Then how did you later defect from Senhaeser?” Igor suddenly asked.

“Because I needed to protect the Miss,” Banjeet said frankly. “My care for the Miss surpasses everything, including myself and the family. That’s how I could resist the contamination and assimilation of Familial Love.”

“Do any of you possess selfless love?” Banjeet asked.

“I once did.”

Everyone was stunned to hear this from the least likely person—the necromancer, Harvey. He silently lit a second catnip cigarette, trying to add physical strain to alleviate his stress.

“So, are you opposing me?” Annan’s tone was filled with unconcealed displeasure, but her gaze wasn’t on Banjeet. She was looking at her reflection in the wine glass—her true frustration seemed not to be with the opposition.

“No, Dolan’s will is my destiny,” Banjeet immediately responded.

“So,” Ashe steered the conversation back on track, “our next task is to enter the Family Rebirth Dream and be a promiscuous lover?”

“To be precise, it’s their task,” Annan said, quickly regaining her composure and returning to her strategic self, the Purple Moth. “You and Lise don’t need to participate.”

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