Sorcerer’s Handbook

Thousands of bare winter fir trees stood like the legs of a centipede’s corpse, pointing stiffly towards the night sky. The sparse streetlights could only illuminate the brownish-yellow ground, and the air was filled with a sweet and earthy scent.

“Where is this place?”

Igor glanced at his boots, now covered in the marks left by the muck. The soles had met their end on their very first day of use.

It wasn’t just the Con Artist; everyone had changed clothes on Annan’s orders. They were all wearing thick leather jackets and fully enclosed filtration Masks, walking through a quiet, deserted forest. Anyone who saw them would think they were up to no good.

“Forest Park.”

“Miss, no offense, but what I meant was-why are we here instead of leaving Vamora directly?”

After leaving the Senhaeser building in the hovercar, Igor thought they would drive straight out of Vamora. However, Annan headed in the opposite direction, bringing them to Forest Park in the center of Vamora. Once they got out of the car, Banjeet took everyone’s clothes and protective gear out of his suitcase from his spatial tool. It was clear that even without tonight’s unexpected events, Annan, who was still in her rebellious phase, would have run away from home sooner or later.

Banjeet said calmly, “You and Ashe didn’t come to the 86th floor, so you don’t know that the ones chasing Miss are those bastards from the Happy Family Firm.”

Annan pointed to the sky. “It’s clear and fog-free tonight, so all the people of Vamora are resting and not moving around. No one will be driving out.”

Ashe suddenly understood. “So the Happy Family Firm outside the city only needs to check the traffic conditions in Vamora through the Gospel Book to pinpoint us accurately! And their specialty is hacking and controlling all intelligent tools. If we drive straight out of the city, it would be like handing ourselves to them on a silver platter!”

Unlike Ashe, who only focuses on enemy intelligence, Igor detected a hint of resentment in Banjeet’s words and followed up, “So, it’s the people from the Homewrecker Agency Firm… Last time we were exhausted just dealing with those two operators. And now, Miss Annan can single-handedly take on a group of pursuers? Harvey, if you had been a bit slower, would Miss Annan have taken them all down on her own?”

“How could that be…” Annan laughed. “Those two last time managed to mobilize all the drones in the city, but Vamora happens to have fewer smart robots and drones. The Homewrecker Agency Firm’s combat strategies revolve around smart robots. So, after I destroyed the robots they brought with them, they couldn’t do much to stop me and had to rely on their numbers. Luckily, Banjeet and Harvey arrived in time, or I would have exhausted all my spellforce.”

“But it also takes Miss Annan’s formidable strength to hold out until Harvey and the others arrived. If it were us, we might have already been captured by the Homewrecker Agency Firm.” Igor sighed. “Miss Annan moves too fast; we have to give our all just to barely keep up with her pace.”

Annan hummed happily, and Banjeet glanced back at Igor. Although the Mask covered 90% of his expression, Igor could tell from the butler’s softened gaze that his verbal massage had hit the mark.

The fact that Ashe and Igor did not go to rescue Annan first would definitely leave a thorn in both Annan and Banjeet’s hearts. The difference was that Annan didn’t show it, while Banjeet openly expressed his displeasure.

Igor’s solution was straightforward-explanations were pointless. When one’s life is at stake, emotions will always prioritize one’s own life, while reason will find a thousand reasons to justify this prioritization. Here, there was no need to mention not rescuing Annan; instead, he should find ways to praise Miss Annan.

Banjeet saw Annan as a daughter, so praising Annan was a hundred times more useful than praising Banjeet himself. As for Annan, if Igor’s judgment was correct, she had likely grown up in an environment lacking positive reinforcement.

Her mother, Qenna, was out of the question, and the butler, Banjeet, who raised her, wasn’t the type to excel at “praise.” When Annan achieved something, Banjeet would most likely commend her with “Miss, you’re amazing” or “Let’s bake a cake to celebrate tonight.” However, such praise was too ordinary, too boring, and full of a patronizing feel that Annan had long grown tired of.

Therefore, Igor only needed to gently guide Annan to recount her achievements, scratching her itch with words, and this thorn would naturally be removed. As for Banjeet, as long as you praised the Purple Moth, you were practically his long-lost brother, and his resentment would dissipate.

However, this method couldn’t be overused. Annan was, after all, in her twenties. If Igor praised her too frequently, she would quickly become desensitized.

Whether it’s praise, criticism, or love, being more sparing makes it more precious.

Igor noticed Ashe mouthing the words: “80 points.”

Initially planning to ignore this fool for at least 24 hours, the Con Artist couldn’t help but give a disdainful look: “Then show me what a 100-point performance looks like?”

Ashe cleared his throat.

“Annan.”

“Hmm?” Annan glanced at him—calling me by my name so boldly?

“Qenna agreed to our marriage.”

Igor stumbled, Lise, on Ashe’s back, let out a couple of surprised sounds, and Banjeet’s body stiffened—due to the distance, he hadn’t actually heard Ashe’s conversation with Qenna on the gaming floor.

Annan, however, remained relatively calm: “What’s going on?”

Ashe explained how he had disguised himself as her fiancé to survive, “…and then Qenna decided to help us escape. You won’t blame me for seizing the opportunity, will you, Miss Annan?”

Lise let out a sigh of relief, “You scared me, Dad. So you were just lying.”

“If we don’t leave Vamora, then it’s not a lie,” Annan said. “If Qenna really protected you on the premise that you would marry into the Senhaeser family, then even if it’s a lie, Qenna will make it true—she never makes a losing deal.”

Lise became anxious. “But, Sister Annan, if you don’t want to, there’s nothing Big Sister Qenna can do!”

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t want to. All Qenna wants is for Ashe to marry into the Senhaeser family. It doesn’t matter who Ashe’s wife is, as long as she has the Senhaeser name,” Annan explained. “Luckily, we escaped quickly. Otherwise, with all Qenna has done for Ashe, she would have squeezed you dry.”

Hearing the phrase “squeezed you dry,” Igor couldn’t help but glance at Ashe. Ashe’s expression was somewhat distant… or perhaps longing?

“But will Qenna really protect you just because you marry into the family? She’s not that naive, right?” Annan murmured softly, making Ashe and Igor break out in cold sweat. “Is there some benefit I’m not aware of…”

“Look!” Igor loudly pointed to a nearby underground stairway. “Is this our escape route?”

Annan nodded. “That’s right, it’s here. Let’s go in.”

Just as they were about to step into the passage, Harvey, who had been silent, suddenly stopped and sneezed. He raised his hand and said, “Wait a moment.”

The necromancer lifted his head in a rapturous manner, his nose tracing a figure-eight in the air as he inhaled deeply. He murmured something that sent chills down everyone’s spine: “Ah… the mucous membranes are screaming, the heart rate is increasing, the nerves are contracting, the pores are opening… a hundred thousand? A million? Or ten million?… Ah!”

The necromancer’s body convulsed, then suddenly stopped trembling as if entering a sage mode. In a cheerful tone, he said, “Alright, I’m ready to go down now.”

“But we’re not ready,” Ashe and Lise shivered. “What kind of hellhole is down there? I’ve never seen Harvey like this before, not even when he smoked ten catnip cigarettes at once.”

Igor raised an eyebrow. “Is it the Six Heraldry family’s tomb down there?”

“Rather than a tomb, you might be more familiar with its other name.”

Annan said, “Beauty Houttuynia Farm.”

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