Sorcerer’s Handbook

On May 30th, at 9:30 PM, during the rush hour, the streets of Mephila were bustling with traffic, as bright as day.

Sangjerte, the orc sorcerer and captain of the Mephila Red Hat squad, was rubbing his face.

This was his bad habit. Whenever he got nervous, he would rub his face until his nose and eyes were out of shape. It might be something he learned from the tricolor cat at home when he was a child. The flakes from his palms and cheeks seemed to take away his inner unease.

He glanced at the Gospel Book. The third ranking list hadn’t been updated yet. He didn’t know if it would be updated today or tomorrow-since May has 31 days, the Future Ranking could be updated on either day.

If the Future Ranking wanted to delay the update, it might even wait until 11:59 PM on the 31st.

“Captain,” a Red Hat behind him reminded. Sangjerte looked up to see a Red Hat elf, who was just as tall as he was, walking to the front.

“Follow my lead, and you’ll share the credit; act on your own, and you’ll get a coffin,” the elf threatened.

The local tyrant Red Hats of Mephila were being threatened like this, but the orc just rubbed his nose and nodded repeatedly. “The overall commander of this operation is Captain Senhaeser. If Captain Senhaeser doesn’t trust me, she can send someone to supervise my team.”

“Fine,” Qenna said bluntly, sending a Red Hat from Vamora over. She had the Mephila Red Hats transfer the control authority of the balancer boots. Noticing his subordinates watching him, Sangjerte nodded, signaling them to comply.

The balancer boots were standard equipment for the Red Hats, used for flying and maneuvering. It took at least a year of training to use them, and they were much better than the virtual wings. Because of this, nearly every Red Hat was an expert in aerial combat at the level of a swift. If the balancer boots were forcibly shut down, the Red Hats would lose 70% of their combat power at best, and at worst, they would crash and need rescue.

With control over their balancer boots, Qenna could turn them back into primitive beings who could only travel on foot at any time. But no one felt displeased about it, not even Sangjerte. After all, he was just performing his duty, while the people in front of him were here for revenge.

Senhaeser, Vastino, Mercury, Roland, Kaesrei… Even though they might not have the meticulous and absolute control over Mephila like Belldate does, in their own cities, they are still unchallenged authorities, spanning the political, commercial, and military realms, and sharing the world with the Yisuo Royal Family as the Gospel Family!

However, despite such a powerful family, they will all eventually be turned into a horde of zombies by necromancers in the future. They have plenty of reasons to root out any threats. Sangjerte, being just a tax-funded alchemist, has no need to offend them.

Although Sangjerte is a two-wings sorcerer, he comes from a proletarian family. In fact, Mephila has only three social classes: negative assets, no assets, and family assets. His orc father and goblin mother left him no inheritance. When they were over forty and couldn’t work anymore, they went on a trip, while Sangjerte, after wandering until he was twenty, successfully went from having nothing to being heavily in debt, becoming a proud member of the negative assets class. For the next forty years, he would have to work like a horse for Belldate.

That’s right, having no assets in Mephila is already considered middle class, enough to surpass 99% of the citizens. Generally, only retirees in their fifties and sixties who have paid off their debts qualify for this class.

As for who the family assets class is, there’s no need to elaborate. Mentioning them would violate labor contracts and incur mental distress fees. Although Sangjerte lived in a house built by Belldate, ate food produced by Belldate, used machines made by Belldate, and even bought spirits from Belldate’s platform, it didn’t stop him from cursing Belldate in his heart. He had to curse a few times every morning before work to feel energized.

Thinking of this, Sangjerte looked at the Vamora Red Hat with a bit more sympathy: I dare to curse the mayor Belldate in my heart, can you dare to curse your patriarch in your heart?

And those other sorcerers who rushed over eagerly, for the so-called future of their families, had to hurry to Mephila overnight, as if they were puppets controlled by their families.

Seeing them, the sense of superiority of the people of Mephila naturally surged-

Free! Dom!

If the keyword for Vamora is happiness, then for Mephila, it is freedom. They are fully aware of the consequences of borrowing and that their cognitive abilities might be shared, but based on research and observation, they prefer a life of early pleasure followed by later hardship over one of early hardship followed by later pleasure.

More importantly, all these choices are made by themselves; no one forces them. If you don’t like it, you can move to another city and start over. You can even live a normal life in Mephila if you can resist the temptation of advance spending—no overtime required.

Compared to these outsiders whose lives are predetermined by the Gospel, Family, and environment from birth, the people of Mephila believe they possess true freedom.

Sangjerte only joined this operation because he received information about a fugitive; he did it purely out of professionalism. He had no interest in the points ranking or the future of the Gospel—he would be dead in fifty years anyway. Even if the Gospel was invaded by the Blade Fish Dragon, it wouldn’t matter to him. He was more concerned about which canteen to go to for lunch tomorrow.

However, it was clear that the others didn’t think the same way. They even began arguing about how to distribute the spoils. Sangjerte rubbed his nose. As a two-wings sorcerer, he had no voice here—there were already five Sanctuary sorcerers present, two of whom were Red Hat captains: ‘Weeping Sand Red Cap’ Cleos and ‘Soul Rending Red Cap’ Qenna.

As for why a mere two-wings sorcerer like him could become a Red Hat captain in a major city, it was simply because Mephila lacked high-level combat power, and…

Unlike all other cities, Mephila’s true defensive measures had nothing to do with the Red Hats—whether for external or internal threats.

Soon, the outsiders finally discussed their distribution strategy. In simple terms: everyone relied on their own skills, but no killing.

It seemed that everyone, except for Cleos’s Red Hats, wanted to capture the fugitive alive.

When they looked over, Sangjerte knew it was time to get to work. He rubbed his cheeks and took a deep breath: “Please follow me to freight elevator number 23.”

The informant who provided the intelligence also mentioned a crucial point besides the location of Ashe and his companions: Belldate, according to the Pact, would protect the Funeral Firm. Therefore, once the pursuers were exposed in Belldate’s sight, whether she wished to or not, she would inevitably use various means to divert them. Hence, to capture Ashe and Harvey, they had to act swiftly and covertly.

To secretly infiltrate Belldate’s manor, they had to take freight elevator number 23 to reach the city on the second level, where the surveillance equipment was temporarily down—the Gospel Book provided them with a top-secret operation map.

Using their employee cards, dozens of elite sorcerers took the freight elevator to the aerial warehouse. According to the informant, Ashe and Harvey were both working overtime in the Hell Zone tonight, so their plan was simple: raid Belldate, capture the targets, and return home for interrogation.

As for the authenticity of the information, it didn’t need consideration: the Gospel Book would judge for them; they just needed to listen to the Gospel.

The journey was uneventful; it seemed the servants were all resting. The warehouse was empty. Leading the way, Sangjerte carefully avoided the boxes labeled “valuable items,” but the faint sense of unease in his heart grew stronger.

When he received the informant’s intelligence yesterday, Sangjerte suspected that the informant might be one of Belldate’s people. Although the intelligence claimed that Belldate couldn’t disclose the secrets of the Funeral Firm in any way, there had to be some loopholes in the Pact.

But there was a significant question: why would Belldate do this?

Couldn’t she afford to support the Funeral Firm?

Impossible—Mephila wasted enough food daily to feed ten thousand Funeral Firms.

Did the Funeral Firm offend Belldate, and she wanted to use others to do her dirty work?

While possible, could Belldate not handle a group of out-of-town sorcerers herself?

Was Belldate planning to betray the Funeral Firm from the start?

Unlikely—if betrayal was her first option, why sign the protection Pact with the Funeral Firm in the first place?

Most importantly… Sangjerte glanced at the unified team behind him. Each sorcerer was among the elite, with even Sanctuary sorcerers leading them.

There were too many outsiders.

Belldate had so many channels to betray the Funeral Firm, so why did she choose the most dangerous one? Didn’t she know that leaking information to the various Families would draw everyone to Mephila? Didn’t she know that Harvey was a source of calamity pointed out by all? Didn’t she know about her Family’s Angelic Heritage—

Ding!

The group, who had set up alerts, immediately opened the Gospel Book and received the latest information from the informant:

“Members of the Funeral Firm, after inquiring with the Gospel Book, have learned that there are outsiders invading Belldate’s manor and are preparing to flee.”

After verifying the information, Qenna immediately said, “We don’t have time; we must act now!”

Sangjerte nodded, “Then let’s pick up the pace—”

“Don’t walk!” A sorcerer from Kaesrei shook his head and directly flew up—

Boom!

The ceiling was instantly pierced by various Miracles. Dozens of sorcerers blasted through the second-floor ceiling of the warehouse, then the first-floor ceiling, until they saw the night sky of Mephila! The ceiling here was reinforced by Miracles, which dispersed external force across all areas, making it very difficult to punch a hole with a normal Miracle, but once broken, the entire layer shattered!

Countless goods fell to the second floor of the warehouse, breaking into pieces. Sangjerte and the others stood dumbfounded, watching the outsiders destroy Belldate’s private property. From the appearance, these goods were sealed precious spirits, extremely valuable hard currency in the Kingdom of the Gospel.

How dare they…

Didn’t they know…

At this moment, Sangjerte rubbed his nose vigorously.

He finally understood that Belldate’s target wasn’t the Funeral Firm at all, but—

“Two city Red Hats, three firms, and eight Families, all are here.”

Igor closed the Gospel Book, “Congratulations, Yvaren. From now on, you are the most powerful patriarch in Belldate’s history.”

The blue-haired girl stood on a footstool, gazing at the outsiders flying around like flies in the distance, and asked, “How do you know?”

“The Dominance Sect of your Family is far too destructive to the potential of sorcerers,” Igor said. “Sorcerers, though varied and bizarre, must have strong convictions to be powerful. But in the extreme hedonism of Mephila, there is no foundation for the growth of conviction, because all convictions require ‘delayed gratification,’ whereas Mephila emphasizes ‘seize the moment.’”

“Even Vamora has the ‘Family’ as a belief to sustain them, but what does Mephila have? People who don’t need a future won’t have one.”

“As for recruiting high-level sorcerers… just like you can’t even recruit Harvey, other Sanctuary sorcerers cannot be tempted by Belldate. Every Sanctuary sorcerer has their own ideals and pursuits, which cannot be bound by the debauchery of Belldate.”

“If you want to quickly expand your power, the only way is to… forcibly dominate the strong ones from other Families!”

The Con Artist couldn’t help but laugh, “A very crude scam, something even children wouldn’t fall for under the Blood Moon.”

“But it’s very effective, isn’t it?” Yvaren shrugged.

“Making them destroy a large amount of Belldate’s property, so that the Gospel judges they owe Belldate, thus triggering the Dominance Miracle… but with the dual support of the Virtual Realm and the Gospel, this is indeed an absurdly effective strategy,” Igor said. “But I’m curious, why didn’t Belldate use this method before?”

“Why would she need to use this method before?” Yvaren retorted. “If the future could continue to be peaceful, I wouldn’t use such an annoying method. Speaking of which, it’s all your fault.”

“You’re afraid of a future disaster foretold by the Gospel… no,” Igor shook his head. “Is it because of your Family’s Angelic Heritage?”

“Both, but regardless, Belldate would be crushed by Harvey like a bug in the future,” Yvaren said. “The other Families have gone mad. To continue their lineage and secure their future, they won’t miss any lifeline… Since Harvey can become the master of the Blood Corpse King under the Blood Moon, why can’t they?”

“Belldate, who lacks high-level combat power, possesses the Angelic Heritage as a legacy… From the day she emerged on the Family Ranking, I knew my enemies were other forces.”

“To protect myself, I must chop off their hands before they can reach out.”

Igor couldn’t help but nod repeatedly. “The day we appeared before you, you had already envisioned tonight’s scenario… It was precisely because of the bait provided by Ashe and Harvey that they invaded Belldate without hesitation and stormed into your backyard!”

“You even prepared an escape route. Throughout the entire process, you ‘protected’ us unknowingly, while they invaded Belldate’s manor and destroyed your private property. Even in the worst-case scenario, it would be considered self-defense, and the Gospel would deem you blameless. As long as the other Families do not plan to openly defy the Gospel, they cannot punish you—they can’t even punish your sorcerers because you have already dominated them.”

“As for harboring fugitives… the Gospel never acknowledged Ashe as a fugitive; this is merely an internal affair of the Empire. You only need to pay a little compensation. But invading someone’s home and destroying private property is a crime recognized by the Gospel.”

“But I have one question—what if they repay their debt?”

“They can’t repay it,” Yvaren said. “The losses are all high-level spirits. Unless they return the exact same spirits, they will always owe Belldate. Even if they return higher-level spirits, it won’t work… This is the Gospel’s biggest trap in debt relationships.”

Igor couldn’t help but applaud.

For sorcerers, it’s not about having higher-level or rarer spirits. For example, giving a two-wings sorcerer a three-wings spirit is pointless, and giving a fire sorcerer a Water Spirit is even more troublesome. The Gospel, considering this, set the debt relationship to ‘must return the original item,’ but it became Belldate’s most terrifying trump card.

The Divine Sovereign Gospel, the Miracle of Domination, the Virtual Realm Pact… Yvaren’s scheme seemed like child’s play to him, but because she could perfectly utilize her resources, she successfully dominated dozens of elite sorcerers!

Even Igor had to admire Yvaren’s audacity—she was scheming against the Red Hat and the major Families! Even though she had Belldate’s support, if anything went wrong, it would mean offending half of the Gospel for nothing. Unlike Annan, who could just walk away, Yvaren had to endure the wrath of countless people alongside Belldate!

Now, with five Sanctuary sorcerers and dozens of elite sorcerers, they were still unaware that half of their minds had already been taken over. Even if Yvaren didn’t control them directly, just implying thoughts could build a solid moat for Belldate!

“But the plan went so smoothly, all thanks to you,” Yvaren glanced back at Igor. “Annan and the others were the base of the puzzle, and you were the final piece.”

“Such top-tier con artistry is rare, even under the peak of the Blood Moon,” Igor said. “I’m curious—where did you learn such skills?”

“…This wasn’t my scheme,” Yvaren replied. “But you, Annan really never approached you?”

“Really never.”

Yvaren summoned the Gospel Book to check and nodded slightly. “That’s strange, she’s not usually so quiet…”

“You should clean up the mess,” Igor said. “Belldate has to wrap up this show. By the way, are you planning to hide your domination over them or reveal it to intimidate the other Families?”

“No need to overthink it,” Yvaren said. “I’ll just go down and scold them, then they’ll leave with Ashe and the others. Tomorrow, they’ll publicly apologize to Belldate, offer compensation, and seek an alliance.”

“But for now, I need to ‘protect’ Annan as per the Pact, at least fend off most of them, or the Virtual Realm will judge me as neglecting my duties.” Yvaren jumped onto the balcony. “Thank you, Igor. Without you, the expert, I couldn’t have deceived the other Families.”

“I didn’t deceive them; the Gospel did,” Igor said. “Trust can’t be placed in the cold Divine Intervention.”

Yvaren didn’t respond, leaping off the balcony.

The Con Artist returned to Yvaren’s seat and summoned his own Gospel Book.

“Trust can only be placed in those who deserve it.”

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