Sorcerer’s Handbook

Each era has its own theme song. In the mysterious pre-God age, the theme was violence, plunder, and destruction as all creatures fought over resources and gambled their lives to survive and reproduce.

But in this age of Gods, Igor believed that the current theme was domination.

Domination over others, organizations, culture, thoughts...

Large scale wars were unlikely to happen again and people no longer expanded territories. Everyone competed over existing resources, classes had solidified, the system became supreme, plunder was replaced by more advanced exploitation, and all actions had to follow the rules set thousands of years ago.

Pure violence without elegance was no longer suitable. Only romantic mental domination could thrive in this world.

And when it came to domination, mind mages were undoubtedly the best choice.

Although Igor was only a two-winged mind mage, in this land of Blood Moon where class was predetermined at birth and the vast majority had no chance of accessing the virtual world, he was practically an apex predator at the top of the food chain.

The most dangerous knowledge was controlled by the Blood Saint and Moon Shadow tribes. Ordinary mages didn't even know mind magic existed, let alone defend against it.

Even Igor's mind magic knowledge came from the awakening of succubus bloodline in his body. He had subsequently found the important spirit arts 'Resonance' and 'Fulfillment' in the virtual world, transforming him into a mind mage.

Plus, he was originally an insurance contract agent, possessing the basic spirit art 'Contract'. Thus, he combined them into a miracle tailored for sentient creatures - 'Actions Speak Louder than Words'!

Whether it was a joke or a lie, once someone made an agreement with Igor, he could use 'Resonance' to connect with the person, use 'Contract' to make a verbal promise, then use 'Fulfillment' to demand the person fulfill their words!

In civilized society, this miracle of his was extremely effective. If not for hitting an iron plate, he would now be lying on the sunny beach of a seaside villa enjoying fine wine, instead of brawling in the bottom level of this prison surrounded by lake water.

But as long as there were rules, he was still the dominator. Prison was no exception.

Although spirit arts were prohibited here, they were the manifestation of knowledge. Igor could still achieve his goals through roundabout means.

Spirit arts were like campfires for roasting meat. Even if the fire died down, with some effort tinder could be lit again to reignite the flames for roasting.

The three spirit arts - 'Contract', 'Resonance', and 'Fulfillment' - were all closely related to rhetoric. With just the power of words, Igor could arouse the resonance of spirit arts, circumventing the restrictions of the chips.

His previous 45 deathmatches were all forcibly won by making his opponents agree to the match with the miracle 'Actions Speak Louder than Words'. Even if they lost, they would agree to his second, third, fourth match, until Igor had drained their contribution points dry before stopping.

This was the meaning of deathmatches - weeding out the weak and distinguishing livestock!

Grovel under my feet and let me trample you, livestock!

'He's going to punch me in the chest with a straight.'

Igor easily avoided his punch and sneered, "Don't waste time, beast. Finish it quickly!"

"It's rare to have a newcomer. Don't break him so fast!"

"Beast, you have so many contribution points. Why not let me enjoy some too?"

"Beast, bring a knife next time. I want to eat some juicy thigh meat! Langna, don't fight with me for it!"

The prisoners in the stands were giggling, but Langna who was drawing circles on her boyfriend's chest suddenly said, "Even if I don't fight with you, you won't get to eat it."

"Hm?"

The prisoners were taken aback for a moment. Many of their expressions changed: "This guy... So this is a believer of the Four Pillars, huh..."

Although shabby, Ash's defensive efficiency could be seen improving rapidly with the naked eye. At the beginning, every punch from Igor hit its mark, but now Igor was lucky to land one out of four punches. And that punch could possibly be blocked by Ash's arm.

It wasn't a sudden increase in physical abilities. More like he had developed combat instincts.

Ash's movements did not get faster. In fact, they slowed down due to fatigue and pain. But his motions became more agile, as if he had completely morphed into Igor's shape. He knew how to react whenever Igor lifted a hand.

To be honest, Igor wasn't that strong in the Deathmatch Society. He didn't even qualify for the second team. His prowess lay in tormenting and draining the weak. Going beyond prison rules to completely wring out the losers. But everyone had to admit, Igor had great judgement and always found the meek he could bully. His 45 consecutive wins were proof.

When Ash had walked onto the stage with Igor, everyone thought he would lose all his contribution points and become a permanent guest at the Blood Moon Tribunal. After all, Ash didn't seem to have any combat skills either. He looked like a pretty boy, making them seriously doubt if the so-called Four Pillars cult was actually a wealthy ladies social club.

Yet, relying solely on minutes of fighting, Ash had transformed from a fragile greenhouse flower with no defensive stance at all into a steady, experienced man-eating jungle flower. He even seemed to gain the upper hand!

"Sir Taig, seems he's the same type as you." Someone joked, "I didn't expect Igor to be fooled."

"No."

The white-haired old man Taig who was used to playing weak had a very serious expression this time: "He wasn't playing the pig. He really was a pig before."

"The body doesn't lie. His body showed no signs of combat training. Even a child is better than him." Langna also sat straight on her boyfriend's lap and said, "I brought him in. I saw it very clearly. All his physical reactions were unlike someone trained to fight. This might be one of his first close combat battles in years."

Someone murmured in wonder, "How is that possible... Doesn't that mean..."

"That's right." In the darkness, Langna said ruefully, "The wrong man, in the wrong place, awakened the wrong talent. What a waste..."

Slap!

Igor used both hands to block Ash's fist. It was the first time he had defended in this fight. Compared to the spectators, Igor had a deeper understanding of Ash's rate of improvement - it was like a silent livestock destined for slaughter transforming into...a very noisy one.

"What cute fists, even softer than a baby's." Igor grinned wickedly, "Tired yet?"

Ash remained silent, pacing as he looked for openings in Igor's defense.

"I have to admit, I underestimated you. Your learning speed far exceeds my expectations. A gift from the Four Pillars? Or your talent you just discovered? I acknowledge you have the capacity to stop being livestock, but your physical condition is far too poor. So poor that all I need to do is drag this out to exhaust you!"

"Consider the 1 contribution point you wagered as the redemption fee for your transformation from livestock to human. You should feel fortunate. Ash Heath, you're the only livestock able to shake off your shackles, but that's all."

"When this deathmatch ends, I'll have nothing more to do with you. I won't accept any challenges from you either. Within the prison rules, you can't get back at me."

"Understanding the rules, utilizing the rules, dominating the rules, that's true power. But with your bit of combat talent, at best you've turned from livestock into...a beast!"

"When you're engulfed by power and struggle helplessly in the Blood Moon Tribunal, I'll be sitting safely somewhere, sipping red wine and watching your sorry state. That's the difference between you and me. The gap between the dominated and the dominator!"

Just then, Ash suddenly said, "Don't block your face."

Igor sneered disdainfully. Only a fool would listen to you—

"You're quite good looking. I want to see more."

'You're quite good looking. I want to see more.'

Ash's words and true thoughts came at the same time, making Igor pause. It was his first time hearing praise like this on the stage. Out of boastful instinct, he unconsciously lowered his hands—

Slap!

The heavy fist that had been focused for a long time fiercely smashed into Igor's face, directly knocking him unconscious.

Ding ding ding!

"Winner, Ash Heath!"