Sorcerer’s Handbook

Ashe looked at his new blessings, and his expression turned subtle.

“Silver Blessing: Observer’s Visage: Your appearance is deceptive, and unless you make an unusual move, others will subconsciously ignore your presence. Enhanced in the Virtual Realm, unless there is a close bond, others cannot see your appearance clearly.”

“Golden Blessing: Listener’s Woe: Your existence is deceptive, and unless you actively seek death, others’ hostility towards you will decrease by one level. Enhanced in the Virtual Realm, unless there is a close bond, others find it difficult to harbor killing intent towards you.”

The blessings given to Ashe in the Virtual Realm have never been direct power-ups.

For instance, the Silver Blessing “Observer’s Visage” had repeatedly proven valuable in the Blood Moon Kingdom for jailbreaks, assassinating Professor Sylin, and disguising as an adventurer. Ashe initially thought this blessing would be of little use outside the Blood Moon Kingdom, but to his surprise, within just ten days of arriving in the Gospel Kingdom, he had already become a fugitive. It was thanks to the full-cover cloak and the Silver Blessing that Ashe hadn’t been knocked out and handed over to the Red Hats for reward during his outings these days.

If the blessing could talk, it would surely ask Ashe, “Do you really not plan on spending a few peaceful days?”

The “Listener’s Woe,” on the other hand, is undoubtedly superior in practicality. It seems somewhat similar to the [stealth] trait of Spider Tower troops. However, the [stealth] effect means ‘you won’t be attacked if there are other friendly units nearby,’ essentially ‘you must first attack that taunting minion.’ But the mechanism of “Listener’s Woe” works on ‘the enemy lowers their attack priority on you,’ which means that while Ashe may still get hit, a lethal blow turns into a severe injury, a severe injury turns into a minor one, a minor injury turns into a beating, a beating turns into a scolding, and a scolding turns into “I endured it.”

This blessing sounds powerful, as long as Ashe doesn’t destroy the world, eradicate entire clans, or plunge the world into chaos, no one would want to kill him. However, Ashe keenly noticed a loophole: hostility is a subjective emotion.

If it’s a conflict of interest on an objective level, even this Golden Blessing won’t save him.

Just like when Ashe was previously a fugitive, being hunted by Cleos and other Red Hats. Cleos had no personal hostility towards him, but capturing Ashe would significantly advance her career, so the Weeping Sand Red Cap would definitely hit Ashe with full force.

Despite its loopholes, this blessing is still incredibly useful. After all, humans are emotional creatures. Purely rational beings devoid of emotion don’t exist, and with this blessing, Ashe could essentially walk through life unimpeded.

However, Ashe expressed strong doubts about the “enhanced in the Virtual Realm” aspect—without an intimate bond, killing intent cannot be generated. This means as long as there is an intimate bond, anyone can completely obliterate Ashe!

What kind of enhancement is that?

In the Virtual Realm, Ashe only moves with his Operators, and forming an Operator Bond is a matter of time. Unless an Operator with a deep-seated hatred for Ashe suddenly appears, or if the Sword Princess and Witch plot to rise against the Observer’s tyranny, this Golden Blessing is practically useless in the Virtual Realm!

Ashe thus concealed this aspect of the Virtual Realm enhancement, only sharing the first part with them. Sonya remarked, “Although it doesn’t sound like it directly boosts your combat power, it’s a permanent passive Miracle that’s just as practical as the blessings the Witch and I have. Besides, for you… the Virtual Realm is indeed looking out for you.”

Ashe clasped his hands together, “Thank you, Mother Virtual Realm.”

In a few days, he would infiltrate the Royal Palace to execute the ‘Assassinate the Princess’ plan, and this blessing was like a lifeline in a snowstorm for him. If exposed and forced to flee, the enemy’s attacks might very well graze past his body.

However, both his Silver Blessing and Golden Blessing are survival skills, making Ashe feel there’s been a slight misperception about him in the Virtual Realm—he’s just a simple person who longs for a peaceful life. His only desire is to upgrade his Substitute spirit to the point where it can earn enough to support both him and Lise. So why does he now live like a disaster courier causing trouble everywhere?

But Ashe remained confident in himself: none of this was his fault. In the Blood Moon, it was because Heath didn’t clean up his own mess, leaving him with the “Cult Leader” storyline; in the Gospel Kingdom, he was forced to start the “Eternal Wanderer” side quest due to the Eternal Presence smearing him with excrement. He was the victim in both cases.

“Right, I should mention to Annan later—if there’s still any wish capacity left, I’ll wish to remove the curse that the Eternal Presence left on me… But even if it’s not removed, it’s okay. Once the Weaving Festival is over and my Pact with Annan ends, I’ll stay somewhere safe with Lise and never risk my life again.”

However, thinking about how the Pact with Annan still had nearly half its term left, Ashe doubted his own resolve. Speaking of which, while Ashe and most species in the Gospel Kingdom were reproductively isolated—such as the Elf sisters Qenna and Nona—Annan just so happened to be purely human…

Ashe shook his head to discard the pleasant thoughts from his mind and asked, “You should have felt the new Secret Toxin by now, right?”

After they climbed out of the Golden Flow and stood on the white bull, admiring the Rainbow Tail they had created, a fragment of hidden knowledge silently surfaced in their minds.

“Rainbow Tail Secret Toxin”

“Number of Secret Toxin Infections: 9”

“Secret Toxin Strength: 9%”

“Current Effects of the Secret Toxin: ① You can convert golden spellforce to prismatic spellforce at a conversion ratio of 59:41; ② When using prismatic spellforce to drive spirits below three wings, they can produce effects equivalent to three wings; ③ While holding this Secret Toxin, all your seven-colored spellforce becomes prismatic spellforce, and using prismatic spellforce to drive three-winged spirits reduces spellforce consumption by 10% (enhancement at 11% reduces the benefit).”

The Secret Toxin has a total of three effects!

The first effect is similar to that of the Golden Fish Secret Toxin, which converts silver spellforce into golden spellforce. The Rainbow Tail converts golden spellforce into prismatic spellforce. This means that Ashe and the others can combine all their silver and golden mana bars into one prismatic mana bar if they wish.

The second effect is truly impressive. Using prismatic spellforce to drive two-wing or one-winged spirits will produce the effects of a three-winged spirit, regardless of the spirit’s inherent quality! It’s akin to offering an entry-level employee a $50,000 monthly salary and receiving performance worth that salary in return, irrespective of their experience level.

This means that even if Ashe and the others haven’t mastered the Sanctuary or possess a three-winged spirit, their combat effectiveness already far surpasses that of two-winged sorcerers, reaching the level of three-winged ones!

Until they promote all their spirits to the three-wing level, the second effect will greatly benefit them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The third effect was somewhat puzzling for Ashe and Deya.

The only literate Miss Sonya explained, “Normally, the spellforce of Sanctuary sorcerers is seven-colored spellforce, not prismatic spellforce. Prismatic spellforce is likely an enhanced version of the seven-colored spellforce.”

Ashe thought of Banjeet’s frost spellforce and Harvey’s Necromancy and immediately accepted this explanation, though he felt a twinge of regret. “If the infection numbers for the Golden Fish Secret Toxin were fewer than ten, we might have gained an enhanced version of golden spellforce. But that opportunity is now lost forever.”

Though prismatic spellforce doesn’t directly enhance the effects of three-winged spirits, its advantage lies in its effectiveness on any Sect spirit, making it extremely practical.

Even without considering advancement to the Sanctuary, the effects of these Secret Toxins alone made Ashe and the others feel that their arduous search for the Rainbow Tail was definitely worth it. It’s no wonder that such a powerful Secret Toxin had fewer than ten infections!

“Infection count is nine…” Deya blinked. “There are three of us, which means there are six others who know about this Secret Toxin…”

For them, having just escaped the Time Continent, the number six held a terrifying significance. The thought that, apart from them, those who knew about this Secret Toxin might be those few supreme beings filled even Ashe with dread.

To put it into perspective, for someone you like, the more secrets you know about them, the closer you feel to them, bringing a sense of excitement. But for a serial killer, the more secrets you know about them, it feels as if they are getting closer to you, evoking a deep fear and aversion to something twisted.

Compared to the Divine Sovereign, a serial killer would seem as innocent as Lala Fatty.

Not daring to think further, Ashe stood up and said, “Let’s explore this place while we still have time… By the way, Sword Princess, does the Distant Sky Domain also have a ‘static domain’ mechanism where you must keep moving, or you’ll die?”

Sonya shook her head. “No.”

The three of them stepped out of the alley into a bustling street. The city streets were clean and tidy, with buildings that seemed a bit old. The sky was bright, yet the neon lights of the shops were on, and even the vehicles on the road had their headlights on. Perhaps in this Dream, it was actually nighttime, but the Distant Sky Domain maintained a perpetual daytime.

Though not very dense, Ashe and the others could easily spot doorways that were just door frames. Some were attached to walls, others stood on ceilings. They were so conspicuous, almost as if afraid sorcerers might miss them. These were undoubtedly the space gates leading to other Dreams.

No one in the crowd paid attention to the trio; passersby simply walked around them. Ashe glanced at the blonde girl still observing them from a distance and asked, “How do we explore the Dreams?”

“There are sorcerer projections and knowledge creatures in Dreams as well, they’re just hidden,” Sonya explained. “Some Dreams are purely dreams with nothing in them. But Dreams themselves are resources.”

“Each Dream has a Dream Master. If you can find and touch the Dream Master, the Dream will dissipate, and the sorcerer can gain the Dream Master’s sect experience. Though it’s not as much as an Experience Orb, the sum of small amounts can still be considerable. However, Dream Masters are incredibly hard to find, and if a sorcerer makes any sudden moves, the Dream Master will hide from the sorcerer.”

Ashe glanced suspiciously at the little girl hiding behind a large tree and decided to take Sonya’s words with a grain of salt. “So, the exploration method is to find the Dream Master?”

“Of course not,” Sonya shook her head. “The way we explore the Distant Sky Domain is completely different from the Sea of Knowledge or the Time Continent. Given your intelligence, it would be hard to explain.”

“Really?” Ashe looked at Deya. “Witch, it looks like you’ll have to let the White Queen out more often.”

“We just have different personalities. I’m just as smart as the White Queen!”

“I wasn’t talking about your intelligence…”

“As if I didn’t know what you meant!?”

“Actually, that’s not true,” Sonya interrupted their bickering. “You need certain permissions to read books about the Distant Sky Domain. What I know is limited. But compared to this, haven’t you noticed you can’t return to reality?”

Ashe and Deya froze, then tried and immediately panicked—they couldn’t find the thread of consciousness to return to reality!

Descending into the Virtual Realm feels like having a rope tied around your waist as you explore a maze. Now, it was as if they were still in the maze but discovered that the rope had vanished!