Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Aurora’s Dream Treasure House!”

As Ashe opened the virtual realm map, this new system appeared before him. What everyone saw was a pair of gloves, a small coffin, and a ruby necklace.

“Silver Collection – Ogre Gloves: Increases strength by 100% for both hands.”

“Silver Collection – Spirit’s Coffin: Enclose any spirit below three wings in this coffin, which intimidates other spirits you own, increasing resonance critical rate. One-Winged Spirit increases critical rate by 10%, Two-Winged by 20%, and Three-Winged by 40%.”

“Golden Collection – Crimson Blessing: Provides Sanctuary protection for sorcerers. When external damage is detected, it automatically triggers Sanctuary, lasting for 3 seconds and cooling down for 10 seconds. While carrying, it continuously grows the sorcerer’s Spatial Sect experience.”

“What are these…” Vesser gazed at the radiant collections with a look of desire. As they stared at the items, information about them flowed into their minds.

The Truth sorcerer instinctively reached out, then quickly retracted her hand, calmly analyzing, “These aren’t spirits, nor miracles; they resemble fantasy creations that encapsulate miracles… But how did you bring fantasy creations into the virtual realm and have them remain effective?”

“Hmph, impressive, right? But this is just a tiny fraction of our team’s power, hardly worth mentioning!” Deya said with a mature tone, as if she hadn’t been the one awestruck by the sports car earlier.

Sonya looked at the ruby necklace and asked, “Is this a gift?”

“Based on the current intelligence, silver collections offer slight enhancements, while gold collections can significantly reduce battle difficulty. Colorful collections seem to transform our combat power, bringing it infinitely close to the three-wings’ threshold.”

“But now we have three collections,” Deya counted the heads, “and there are four of us. How do we divide them?”

“Speaking of that, there’s another resource to allocate,” Ashe said. “I have two bottles of Lightless Sanctuary Potion, which can allow the user to directly establish a Sanctuary. Along with this Golden Collection ‘Crimson Blessing,’ at least three of us can gain the ability to explore the virtual realm tonight.”

Vesser was a bit surprised. “You all haven’t established your Sanctuaries yet?”

“We smuggled ourselves into the Distant Sky Domain through the Rainbow Tail,” Ashe said frankly. “We went through our first Ritual of Prohibited Synchronization of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon just ten days ago, and we haven’t even mastered the Spatial Sect, so a Sanctuary is still a long way off.”

“Also?” Sonya noted, “Vesser, did you just recently become a sanctuary sorcerer too?”

At this, Vesser gave a wry smile and shook her head. “I’ve been climbing the Distant Sky Domain for several months now.”

“Even a Truth sorcerer can’t establish a Sanctuary within a few months?” Ashe was quite surprised. He thought sanctuary sorcerers would acquire basic skills within a month, not realizing the probation period could be this long.

“According to what I’ve found, sanctuary sorcerers typically need to undergo the Ritual of Prohibited Synchronization of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon five times to enter the Spatial Sect. With talent, it can be reduced to three times,” Sonya explained. “The ritual doesn’t damage the sorcerer’s soul much, and at most requires half a month of rest. Plus, as sect experience grows, soul damage decreases, so most sorcerers can establish a Sanctuary within three months.”

“Ordinary sorcerers take three months, but I need much longer,” Vesser said with a bitter smile. “Because of the secret toxin, my soul is much more fragile than that of ordinary sorcerers.”

Ashe recalled her background. “It’s the Mirror Dragon Secret Toxin, isn’t it?”

Vesser gave a slight nod. Though she had anticipated it, Ashe’s knowledge of her deepened her apprehension-spirits, miracles, secret toxins, the Spellcasting Sect, even her true name, she felt exposed in Ashe’s eyes.

If Ashe were just a stranger she’d never meet in her lifetime, it wouldn’t matter, but he happened to be her relentless pursuer. If she were ever exposed… In that moment, Vesser even regretted why she used the Dragon Blood Cultivation System and attracted this inexplicable enemy.

But in the next second, Vesser suppressed those weak thoughts inside her.

Fear must not overcome her, as it would only empower the enemy and weaken herself.

She must not run away, as fleeing means giving up hope and ceding benefits.

Reality is just a momentary delusion, so fate is void; the virtual realm is the eternal future, thus Truth prevails.

This is not a crisis but an opportunity.

The boundary between hunter and prey is inherently ambiguous.

With countless thoughts running through her mind, Vesser didn’t let any hint of them show on her face. She continued, “The Mirror Dragon Secret Toxin significantly reduces both my soul recovery rate and soul defense capability. When I die in the Virtual Realm, it takes me three to four times longer to recover compared to an average sorcerer. After going through the Ritual of Prohibited Synchronization of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon a few months ago, I’ve only now recovered my soul. I need at least one more ritual to establish a Sanctuary, but that would mean several more months of recovery.”

“A secret toxin with only negative effects?” Ashe asked. “Is there any important Intelligence on the toxin that might help us explore the Virtual Realm?”

Vesser shook her head. “It’s merely information about the Mirror Dragon, but we’re unlikely to encounter a Mirror Dragon in the Virtual Realm.”

Ashe suggested, “Then see if you can contract the Golden Fish secret toxin or the Rainbow Tail secret toxin.”

As expected, even though Vesser appeared surprised, she couldn’t contract these two toxins, just like the Witch would. For sorcerers, who are naturally greedy and suspicious creatures, it’s impossible to entirely trust spoken Intelligence unless witnessed firsthand, particularly for a Truth sorcerer.

Selfless trust is the most precious luxury for a sorcerer.

“So none of the four of us have a Sanctuary, but there are only three artifacts to establish one…”

“No, don’t consider me,” Deya interrupted. “I can already establish a Sanctuary.”

As if fearing they wouldn’t believe her, Deya raised her hand slightly, conjuring a translucent Sanctuary that enveloped both her and Ashe.

“You can establish a Sanctuary after just one Ritual?!” Ashe was astonished. “Your spatial talent is almost as impressive as an orc’s!”

“That’s amazing!” Vesser praised. “The Witch’s talent is truly extraordinary!”

“Hehe.” Deya was a bit bashful. In truth, it wasn’t her talent at all; she relied on the Omniscience and Omnipotence of the “Gospel” deity to forcefully make her way into the Spatial Sect.

Though the Gospel deity was a double-edged sword hanging over her head, it was also an endless treasure trove. She could currently enter a state of Omniscience and Omnipotence for 60 seconds each day, during which she could significantly advance her existing Sect Realm-even learning deeply about sects she had never explored before, like Fate’s prophecy, with efficiency increased by thousands of times.

For example, because she had a foundation from the Ritual of Prohibited Synchronization of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon, she managed to start with the basic concepts of the Spatial Sect in just a few days. But with the Fate Sect, it would probably take her a whole year just to scratch the surface.

Sonya looked at the Witch in wonder, then glanced at Vesser, her head down, lost in thought.

“Then it’s easy for us to decide-two bottles of Lightless Sanctuary Potion and one ‘Crimson Blessing,’” Ashe said. “But the Lightless Sanctuary Potion has a drawback; it doesn’t enhance sect experience but rather directly completes the Sanctuary construction. The Ritual was originally intended to help us get into the Spatial Sect, and skipping this step might prevent us from ever gaining entry in this lifetime.”

“The ‘Crimson Blessing’ lacks that flaw and even helps boost sect experience. It’s practically a beginner’s gift for new Sanctuary holders.”

He paused and took out two bottles of the potion. “I don’t care much about Sect Realm advancement, so I’ll take one bottle. As for the other…”

“Vesser, since you’re in a hurry to establish a Sanctuary, you should take it.”

Vesser had no objections and was just about to reach for the potion when her wrist was suddenly grasped by someone.

It was the Sword Princess.

“I’ll take it,” Sonya said. “Most of my talent is in Swordsmanship, and even if I wear the ‘Crimson Blessing’ tonight, I might not be able to enter the Spatial Sect. On the other hand, Vesser is proficient in over twenty Spellcasting Sects. Her talent is much stronger than mine, and with this collection, she’s sure to establish a Sanctuary.”

Vesser looked at Sonya in surprise. Although the Sword Princess’s words seemed to make sense at first, the Crimson Blessing was undoubtedly superior to the Lightless Sanctuary Potion. Vesser herself was more tempted by this Golden Collection. Even if she couldn’t gain entry to the Spatial Sect after obtaining the collection, she could just undergo the Prohibited Ritual again. Sonya, after all, hadn’t been affected by the Mirror Dragon Secret Toxin and could enter the Virtual Realm in at most half a month.

The Observer’s approach to favoring veterans made sense to Vesser, so why was Sonya declining?

Ashe was also taken aback. He gestured for Sonya to join him on the side and asked, “Are you serious? You understand the importance of the Spatial Sect, right?”

“Yes,” Sonya nodded. “But if I fail to establish a Sanctuary, I’ll have to go through the ritual again tomorrow night.”

“Then just go through it,” Ashe said. “It’s a trial that sorcerers must face. We’re just taking a shortcut by skipping it.”

“If I die during the ritual, I won’t be able to enter the Virtual Realm for many days…”

“So what?” Ashe smiled. “Besides, I have the ‘Scorching Soul Essence Elixir’ to help you recover faster. And as you mentioned, the more spatial experience you have, the less soul damage you’ll sustain. You’ll probably recover in a few days. Spending a bit of time to enter the Spatial Sect is surely worth it?”

“But unlike the Witch or Vesser, my spatial talent isn’t high,” Sonya said uneasily, gripping her sword hilt. “It might take four or five, or even six or seven attempts before I get in…”

“Then take six or seven. At most, it’s just a month or two,” Ashe replied. “Why are you in a hurry?”

The Stretch Paw Club President said nothing, but just looked up at Ashe with wide eyes and a pout.

After a moment’s thought, Ashe understood her concern. “You’re worried about falling behind with new members joining the team, and your absence could lead to them taking your place, diminishing your role.”

It’s understandable, like when you regularly play games with a group but suddenly can’t join them, only to find out they’ve already teamed up with someone new, making you feel like an outsider.

“You once said,” Sonya murmured, “that an operator’s standing with you is linked to their strength.”

“Did I say that?” Ashe blinked. “Well, I still think that way.”

“So…”

With a casual motion, Ashe picked up the Crimson Blessing and placed the necklace around Sonya’s neck. He grinned, “How will you become the strongest operator if you don’t even enter the Spatial Sect?”