Sorcerer’s Handbook

Nago finally removed his boots, revealing a pair of cute socks embroidered with the Golden Lion Cub pattern.

He couldn’t possibly reject the request.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens were watching the live broadcast, each holding a ballot in their hands. If Nago ever wanted to leave prison and further aspire to become a councilor, he couldn’t afford to do anything that would damage his persona.

His role as the Supervisor was specifically sought from the prison to increase his exposure, to familiarize citizens with himself, and to lay the groundwork for his future competition for a council seat.

If he couldn’t even fulfill this ‘small wish,’ let alone becoming a councilor, even the prison would think poorly of his image and no longer allow him to be Supervisor.

Losing the role of Supervisor, the easiest position to accumulate a good track record before his Promotion to Golden Two Wings, Nago would have to remain a Prison Guard in this prison.

Despite having weighed the benefits clearly, when Nago held his new boots that he had been looking forward to for a whole year and had worn for less than a month, he still couldn’t help but feel an irrepressible sadness.

“Hurry up, I’m pressed for time,” Ashe urged.

“Can you catch them?”

“When you put them on, your foot must go in vertically, otherwise you’ll wrinkle the outer texture.”

“I know, I know.”

“I actually have another decent pair of boots. How about I go back and get them for you now—”

“Just throw them over!”

A camera eye let out a hip-hop laugh, which happened because if a large portion of the Audience watching the live broadcast reacted the same way, it would feedback to the camera eye, letting the live host know the effect of their performance.

Clearly, the interaction between Ashe and Nago amused the Audience, who had seen the Blood Moon Tribunal hundreds of times but had never seen such a comedic death row inmate and Supervisor.

Nago steeled his heart, not wanting to become the butt of the joke in the eyes of the citizens, and threw the boots.

Ashe caught the boots and took a close look, noticing the quality was indeed good, with a high-end texture and appearance, no wonder Nago looked as heartbroken as if he had lost a beloved.

“Ah, don’t stuff them like that, are they too big for you? Don’t rush, you have to go slow, you’ll leave marks if you force it! Can’t you be gentler?”

Nago watched with a pained heart, counting on getting his boots back later, since Ashe wouldn’t live much longer anyway.

Ashe, ignoring him, put on the boots and once again activated his Substitute spirit. An exact copy of himself, complete with the newly worn Steel-toed Boots, appeared beside him.

“Stand on the Steel Wire for a few seconds.”

The Substitute stood firmly on the Steel Wire, and this time the wire could no longer cut through his boots.

And without being harmed, the Substitute naturally did not disappear.

“Good!” Ashe said excitedly, “Come back.”

The Substitute returned.

“Crouch down!”

The Substitute crouched down.

Ashe climbed onto the Substitute’s neck, “Carry me across the Steel Wire to the Main Platform!”

However, this time the Substitute did not respond. Ashe looked down to see the Substitute calmly raising its head to look at him.

“Carry me across the Steel Wire to the Main Platform!” Ashe repeated, thinking his Substitute hadn’t heard him the first time.

After a three-second silence, the Substitute seemed to finally understand the request, or rather, it understood its fate.

With each step the Substitute took, the Steel Wire made creaking noises, sending shivers down Ashe’s spine. He had watched other death row inmates cross with apparent ease, but now it was his turn, the mere sight of the sea below made him feel like he was about to wet himself.

But he succeeded—the Substitute could indeed carry him across.

Ashe began to appreciate another wondrous aspect of the Sorcerer system.

If it was said that ordinary people ‘can’t do what they haven’t been told they can do,’ then Sorcerers were ‘can do what they haven’t been told they can’t do.’

The former is all illusion, the latter, all permission.

The effect of the Substitute spirit was to create a duplicate that looked exactly like him, would disappear if injured, and would obey his commands implicitly.

Thus, as long as he didn’t exceed the Restriction, Ashe could command the Substitute to perform unimaginable actions, even if they were impossible for him to do himself.

Like now, Ashe himself had no capability to walk across the Steel Wire, let alone carry someone across it.

Yet, the Substitute could do it.

Because it was Ashe’s command,

Because it was theoretically a task the Substitute could complete,

So it could.

A spirit isn’t a Miracle because it can’t twist the rules of reality.

It’s merely the infinite extension of knowledge, the theoretical right answer, the best outcome reality permits.

It is the limit.

If only I could take this Substitute spirit back to my world… then I could have it take care of my parents at home…

Ashe’s thoughts shifted, realizing that such a use was severely underutilizing the Substitute. With such a powerful tool, why was his vision so limited?

Right, it was capital.

So, I should have the Substitute go to work while I stay home and take care of my parents. Although, it’s also likely that I’d end up being taken care of by them…

Lost in his thoughts, Ashe realized the Substitute had already covered most of the distance. By now, most of the death row inmates had climbed onto the Main Platform, leaving only Ashe and Valcas on the Steel Wire.

“Both of you, stand still! Don’t come any closer!”

A death row inmate with a scarred face picked up a Long gun and aimed it at Ashe: “If you dare take one more step, don’t blame me for sending you to feed the fish!”

The other inmates paused, then quickly realized what was happening and silently stepped aside.

Ashe blinked and asked, “Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Valcas laughed from afar. “Cowards always take advantage when others are vulnerable, scum will always judge others by their own standards, and Weaklings can only scrounge to survive.”

Although Valcas was the Riddler, Ashe realized that the inmates weren’t looking at him but at the Executioner behind him, and he immediately understood their thoughts—they were afraid he would rush over and use them as human shields against the Executioner!

Oh, right!

So that was an option!

No wonder they are death row inmates; their minds work much faster than mine when it comes to self-preservation at the expense of others!

Tonight, the Redeemed would undoubtedly be either Ashe or Valcas, and if the two of them made it to the Main Platform, it meant that the Executioner would also come chasing after them.

The Executioner’s ferocious and terrifying image made it clear that its method of attack wasn’t a clean, residue-free mental assault, but more likely a wide-ranging area-of-effect (AOE) physical attack.

In other words, if they were around when the Executioner carried out its sentence, other members of the Audience were likely to get caught in the crossfire!

That’s why the Death row inmate who got to the Main Platform first started getting ideas.

They couldn’t let Ashe and Valcas reach the Main Platform!

Otherwise, the end result would surely be a total wipeout of all eight!

That’s why Scarface picked up the Gun and threatened Ashe and Valcas not to move forward. In his mind, the best outcome was for both Ashe and Valcas to be executed by the Executioner halfway across the Steel Wire.

“If you don’t want to fall down and feed the fish, then stay put!” Scarface roared.

“I refuse!”

Ashe declared righteously, “My favorite thing to do is to refuse when someone threatens me! One step forward!”

Ying ya~

The Substitute took a heavy step forward, causing the Steel Wire to sway violently!

Bang!

Scarface fired off a shot, his scarred face twisted by fear and anger into a centipede-like shape, “I mean it, stop… stop right there!”

“I—don’t—believe—you—will—shoot—me!”

With each word Ashe said, the Substitute took a step forward, its demeanor as defiant and irritating as a sentient punching bag, making it hard for onlookers to not clench their fists.

Bang!

“Don’t push me; I really will shoot. I killed nineteen people before I came in here; you can check my record if you don’t believe me!”

However, Ashe had already seen through his bluff and said calmly and collectedly, “The fact that you thought of threatening me so quickly shows you’re a smart man. But because you’re a smart man, I’m sure you won’t shoot.”

“Why not!”

“Because if I die here, then you will be the one executed by the Executioner!”

Ashe smiled and said, “If the two of us don’t die, you can at least be sure that we will be the ones to be executed. But if we die, then the Audience will choose one of you six to vote off!”

Scarface’s mouth twitched, “So what? It might not be me!”

“No, it will definitely be you.” Ashe smiled, “Think about it. The Audience is looking forward to seeing the two of us executed, but you’ve spoiled their fun. Guess if they’ll use their vote to vent their anger?”

“Secondly, haven’t you noticed that everyone else has moved away from you?”

Scarface was taken aback and looked around, only to realize that he was standing exposed in the middle while the others had retreated to the edges, avoiding being in the same shot as Scarface!

“Why would they avoid you? Because if you really could corner us on the Steel Wire, they could reap the benefits without any effort; if you shot us, then you would inevitably become the target of the Audience’s vote. Either way, they wouldn’t lose out.”

Ashe revealed a refreshing smile, “Or are you saying that you’re a model Prisoner who has risen above base interests, with high moral standards, thoroughly reformed and willing to sacrifice yourself to protect the other inmates?”

Scarface’s hand trembled slightly, but the muzzle of the Gun was quietly lowered.

“And even if it’s not you who becomes the target of the Executioner, so what? It will still be one of you six, and the Executioner will attack this Main Platform regardless. Or do you believe that your companions are polite, morally upright citizens who, upon finding themselves condemned, would voluntarily jump into the sea and not drag you all down with them, not causing any trouble for everyone?”

While speaking, the Substitute had already carried Ashe across the Steel Wire.

Ashe secretly let out a sigh of relief; his back was soaked with sweat.

He wasn’t as confident as he appeared to be; after all, who knew if Scarface might suddenly become agitated and insist on shooting him in the face? Despite how logical Ashe’s arguments were, his heart was nearly pounding out of his chest.

To avoid agitating Scarface, he even signaled the Substitute to walk as slowly as possible, creating the illusion for Scarface that ‘he hadn’t yet crossed over,’ thus buying Scarface more time to think.

Thinking is the best chiller for anger.

The more he thought, the more cautious he became;

The more he pondered, the more timid he was;

The more he listened, the more he felt that what Ashe was saying made sense.

In the past, when colleagues in his group wanted to take their pails and run, Ashe used this tactic of ‘listening, feeling, and thinking’ to change their minds—at least wait until the project was over before running off.

Ashe jumped down from the Substitute and patted Scarface’s shoulder: “So, do you know where your path to life is?”

Scarface, as if grasping a lifeline, asked eagerly, “Where is the path to life?”

“Go back, or hang on the Steel Wire,” Ashe said with a smile. “Since I’m standing here, the only way for you not to die if you don’t want to, is to stay away from me.”

“This is my place, and it’s you who should leave!”

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