Sorcerer’s Handbook

In the Virtual Realm, the Sea of Knowledge.

“All day, and you couldn’t find a single person willing to escape from prison with you?”

With a forceful chop, Sonya’s Sword Qi vibrated and split into several perpetually circling rings of energy, tearing through the earthen rampart like a relentless chainsaw. She was practicing her newly learned Miracle, ‘Rupture Wave Slash.’

“Yeah,” sighed Ashe, shaping his hand like a sword and channeling the Heart Sword to pierce the rampart. But as one layer was penetrated, another regenerated, seemingly endless.

“Not even one?”

“It’s not that there’s not even one,” Ashe sighed again, “but aside from Igor, whom I bound with a Contract, the others are unwilling… or rather, they don’t believe it’s possible.”

“If Shattered Lake Prison has never had an escape before, they do have a reason to doubt you.”

“It’s more than that,” Ashe exhaled deeply: “It’s less about their objective reasons for disbelief and more about a subjective refusal to accept the possibility.”

Throughout the day, Ashe followed Igor, attempting to persuade other powerful prisoners, such as ‘Diamond’ Taig, ‘Black Beast’ Tuke, and ‘Skylark’ Zuer. Each one of them was a notoriously vicious Sorcerer before their imprisonment, and each of their criminal histories could fill a chilling novel.

Frankly, Ashe wasn’t surprised. The high-pressure rule of Shattered Lake Prison and its near-absolute isolation on an island made it normal for death row inmates to be skeptical; doubt was a reasonable reaction.

However, the problem was that these death row inmates didn’t just doubt; they resisted the idea of escape.

They resisted the very thought of escaping.

It’s important to note that it wasn’t Ashe who was negotiating, but the ‘Beautiful Beast’ Igor, a celebrity even within the prison walls. Although a Con Artist, Igor had a good reputation, rarely lied, and was even one of the few Intelligence Brokers inside. He was well-liked.

In his words, ‘Lying is the taboo of a Con Artist, reputation is their face, and honesty is their most important attribute. The greatest failure for a Con Artist is when people no longer wish to communicate with them.’

Therefore, what Igor said carried weight. Even if the death row inmates didn’t believe him, they should have asked for more information to make further judgments.

But they didn’t.

Even when Igor mentioned that he ‘might have a way to remove the Chip restrictions,’ no one bothered to ask ‘how’ or ‘really?’ Instead, they showed expressions of ‘enough is enough,’ skipping over the topic or simply turning away.

In such a large prison, the fact that not even one companion wanted to escape was, to Ashe, indicative of the worst batch of criminals he’d ever seen.

Igor, however, had anticipated this.

At dinner, he summed up Ashe’s confusion with a single statement.

“They are no longer who they used to be; even shit, given enough time, turns into fertilizer.”

If time is the best poison, then there’s no doubt that Shattered Lake Prison is the best sewage treatment plant. No matter if you’re harmful or toxic, once you’re in, you’re bound to turn into nourishment.

An ordinary person can go through many changes in just a few years, so how could death row inmates, after spending so much time in prison, still be the same vicious individuals they once were?

In fact, many death row inmates, reflecting on their past crimes, sincerely repent, seeing their former selves as naive and impulsive. Even if they don’t regret their actions, they gradually lose hope for the outside world and find their place in Shattered Lake Prison.

Igor was right about one thing: Shattered Lake Prison is indeed a Utopia. It forbids all crimes, there’s no racial discrimination, swearing, or fighting, and not even things like cutting in line or littering occur.

As long as you follow the rules, everyone can live freely, not having to worry about others, because no one can harm you or affect your interests. It’s a place of true equality for all.

The reason death row inmates commit heinous crimes out of greed, baseness, or impulse is fundamentally because they are accustomed to a life filled with crime. That lifestyle is the only one that brings them comfort.

Shattered Lake Prison forcibly changes their way of life, yet still provides them with a sense of security.

Feeling secure can be addictive.

When a person spends a long time in such an environment, detached from complex social relationships and the competitive world outside, even if they outwardly disdain the prison’s restrictions, the idea of leaving the prison and returning to society leaves them feeling lost, especially when they can lead a peaceful life inside.

Many death row inmates can’t even manage to wake up early, let alone step out of their comfort zone voluntarily.

With this in mind, Shattered Lake Prison’s method of reforming death row inmates seems quite successful. No need for forced labor or punishment; through various restrictions, KPI assessments, and elimination of the lowest performers, inmates become qualified workers who will willingly do overtime, contributing their labor in prison. If they have no labor value, they can participate in trial broadcasts to earn money. There’s always work suitable for death row inmates.

Ashe and Igor’s recruitment is akin to inviting them to start a business with an uncertain future, insufficient funds, and requiring them to invest their own money.

What’s most important is, if the business venture fails, that’s one thing, but if it succeeds, won’t they have to return to a society where they have to fend for themselves?

Just thinking about it is terrifying. Better to buy a toy gun, rob a bank, and wait for the Sin Hunter’s Hall to take you back home.

Even Igor, if it weren’t for the backlash Contract binding him to Ashe, would probably be reluctant to participate in an escape from prison. True, he could live better on the outside, but he would also live in fear and anxiety of the Sin Hunter’s Hall.

In Shattered Lake Prison, even a Con Artist feels secure.

If it weren’t for Professor Sylin and the Blood Moon Tribunal, Ashe feels that Shattered Lake Prison wouldn’t be a bad place for a vacation. Not only could you enjoy the scenery, but you could also undergo a mandatory cleansing of the soul.

Ashe always felt like a villain coercing good people back into a life of crime, luring these reformed death row inmates back into the fray. Igor seemed like an innocent girl caught by him, who wanted to live a quiet life but now had to become Ashe’s top Sorcerer…

Snap!

With a muffled sound, the earthen rampart that Ashe and Sonya had been attacking for over ten minutes finally burst open, revealing the elderly Sorcerer hidden inside. Before he could speak, the ‘Evil Light Slash’ and ‘Heart Sword’ directly scattered him, yielding three spirits and a Sorcerer Handbook.

This was the best Sorcerer Inheritance Ashe had encountered since entering the Virtual Realm.

Because this Sorcerer wasn’t a battle type.

He had no battle skills and only kept creating earthen walls for defense. Initially, Ashe was a bit worried that spikes might suddenly emerge from the ground for an unwelcome surprise, but nothing happened. The Sorcerer’s projection just cowered inside the rampart, as if the Inheritance was meant to test their output efficiency.

“This type of Sorcerer is actually the mainstream,” Sonya said. “Or rather, those who specialize in battle are the minority. Most Sorcerers study to find good jobs within the Production Faction and then learn a bit of battle skills on the side. There are also many Sorcerers who never possess battle spirits and rarely get the chance to fight others, such as Medics, Weather Sorcerers, Architects, Planters…”

She muttered, “If you hadn’t insisted on me learning Swordsmanship, I might have been a Water Art Medic far removed from battle by now.”

Ashe was curious, “But it’s not possible to completely avoid learning battle skills, right? Even if you don’t need to fight in reality, the Knowledge Creatures in the Virtual Realm won’t just check their IDs and let them go, will they?”

“Dealing with Knowledge Creatures isn’t only about fighting. There’s running away, defending, Sorcerers have many methods.”

“But without fighting, how do you acquire new spirits?”

Sonya smiled, picking up a dormant spirit from the ground and casually mentioned, “Study! Train! Research!”

“People like us who make gains in the Virtual Realm every day are actually very rare. Most Sorcerers obtain spirits by improving their Faction knowledge to resonate with the Virtual Realm, allowing knowledge to give birth to new spirits.”

“Knowledge level is the foundation of a Sorcerer, and diligent study is the proper path. Our current approach of combat and adventure is actually unorthodox. Academy Sorcerers who grow methodically often have a complete Spirit System, whereas Adventurer Sorcerers like us have a mixed and unclear Spirit System, not as adept as Academy Sorcerers.”

“And we can’t skip lessons either. Once our Silver Wings are fully formed, we’ll have to catch up on our studies and improve our Faction Realm—if we don’t have Gold Tier Faction knowledge, we can’t summon Two Wings spirits, and we’ll be stuck swimming in the Sea of Knowledge forever, never reaching the Time Continent!”

Production is the right path, and battle is the wrong one?

Ashe heaved a silent sigh. He dreaded systems that demanded holistic development in morals, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor — he knew himself best: just an ordinary person. He lacked athletic talent, wasn’t one for memorizing papers, and had no other special skills except for getting paid while on the toilet. If it weren’t for clinging to the coattails of the Swordswoman through “Aurora’s Sorcerer Handbook,” he wouldn’t have had any chance of becoming a Sorcerer at all.

Isn’t there a supernatural system where you can just drink a potion and be promoted after digesting it?

“Speaking of which, Swordswoman, didn’t you mention before that there’s a Golden Fish in the Virtual Realm, and finding it could take us to the Time Continent?” Ashe asked.

“It’s just a rumor, and even you, the Observer, don’t know where the Golden Fish is. How could I possibly know?” Sonya replied, flipping through the Sorcerer Handbook with a teasing tone. “You’re not actually pinning your hopes on the Golden Fish, are you? You might as well hope for a sudden prison riot tomorrow and escape in the chaos… Hmm?”

Ashe looked at Sonya, who was making strange noises: “What’s wrong? Another Sorcerer Handbook that doesn’t sit right with your principles?”

“Well… I think you should prepare yourself well after leaving the Virtual Realm.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because there might actually be a prison riot!”

Sonya squeezed excitedly next to Ashe, flipping the Sorcerer Handbook to a page in the middle to show him.

It read:

“I found the Golden Fish.”

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