Sorcerer’s Handbook

Ashe had almost forgotten about the possibility of recharging in “The Sorcerer Handbook” game.

He thought that the Source Crystals he got from the daily check-ins were his only means of card draw, but it turns out that there is an actual currency recognized by the game in this world.

No matter the value, this discovery gave Ashe a surge of enthusiasm—it was like your boss telling you, “Do well, and you’ll be the next one promoted.” Even if the hope was slim, there was still something to look forward to.

But he didn’t dare to just recharge using his medals, because he realized that these medals were actually the extraordinary foundation of this world, the source of power that all Sorcerers yearned for—the Spirits!

“Do you want this Spirit?” he asked.

“Do you?” To Ashe’s surprise, Sonya didn’t show much interest in the Spirit. “Then take it.”

Now it was Ashe who was curious. “It’s a Spirit, don’t you want it?”

“It’s neither a Swordsmanship Spirit nor a Universal Spirit. It’s useless to me and would just be a waste of my money.”

“What does it have to do with money?” Ashe asked, still not fully understanding.

Sonya felt like the Observer was subtly mocking her poverty. After all, Observers could control little ships sailing through the Virtual Realm; how could they not know such common Sorcerer knowledge?

Or was it that the Observer was simply a Noble who didn’t have to worry about feeding a Spirit? The kind you read about in novels, ‘the rich Noble who lacks common sense’—quite comical to think I’m actually encountering such an endangered species in reality.

With Sonya’s explanation, Ashe came to realize that the world of Spirits was far more complicated than he had imagined.

First of all, Spirits need to be fed, and they’re fed with circulating currency!

Silver Coins and Gold Coins are the main diet for Spirits. One Wing Spirits require Silver Coins, while Two Wings Spirits need Gold Coins. Spirits that aren’t fed will dissipate, and some poor Sorcerers might actually starve their own Spirits to death!

Besides currency, Spirits can also be fed with other materials, but the specific materials required by each Spirit vary greatly, making the search quite cumbersome. Silver and Gold Coins, on the other hand, are the universal food for all Spirits. Over time, Sorcerers have forgotten what exactly their Spirits need and have resorted to simply stuffing their Spirits’ mouths with money.

Additionally, just the existence of a Spirit consumes the mental energy of a Sorcerer. A Sorcerer with many Spirits is like a man with many girlfriends—not only will his wallet suffer, but his body will too.

Therefore, for Low-rank Sorcerers, especially those who uphold the excellent traditions of the working class, having more Spirits is not better. They must selectively choose Spirits that suit them, as ‘quality over quantity’ is the development strategy for most Low-rank Sorcerers.

Secondly, there are Restrictions on the use of Spirits.

Spirits are divided into different Factions based on their usage restrictions, such as the Swordsmanship Faction that requires the use of a sword, the Gun Technique Faction that uses guns, the Physical Faction that demands a strong physique, and the Fist Technique Faction that relies on overpowering with fists. Spirits that have high requirements for the Sorcerer are known as Specialized Spirits. For example, the “Vibration Sword” requires the Sorcerer to wield a sword to activate it.

For a Sorcerer, having a Spirit that doesn’t have special requirements or one that most Sorcerers can easily meet is known as a Universal Spirit. For example, ‘Hawkeye’ just needs the Sorcerer to have eyes to be activated.

Generally speaking, the Spirits a Sorcerer possesses are composed of Specialized Spirits and Universal Spirits. It’s best not to exceed two Factions with Specialized Spirits, and even with Universal Spirits, one must consider compatibility and try not to retain useless Spirits.

Even if Sonya took the ‘Rapid Fire’ Spirit, she would likely sell it rather than keep it and waste her money.

The reason Sonya had no interest in the ‘Rapid Fire’ Spirit is because it’s not valuable.

“‘Rapid Fire’ is a relic from the flintlock Gun era hundreds of years ago. These days, it’s the era of Automatic Rifles and Handguns. A Handgun can discharge seven Shot Bullets in a second, so there’s no lack of rapid-firing capability,” Sonya explained, spreading her hands, “Although ‘Rapid Fire’ could also be used on mortars and ship-mounted guns, there are better Spirit options for those weapons too, so they wouldn’t use ‘Rapid Fire’.”

“Spirits like this that have been phased out by time, the school’s buyback price is at most one Silver Coin—that’s also the lowest buyback price for a One Wing Spirit.”

Ashe had known that the Swordswoman was studying, but he didn’t pay it much attention, thinking it was just a game setting.

“Well, I’ll take it then!”

“Go ahead, take it.” Sonya didn’t really care either.

Ashe muttered ‘exchange’ to himself, and the medal in his hand turned into white mist and dissipated. A message popped up in the game: ‘Recharge successful! You have earned 10 Points.’

The lowest purchase option in the game is 6 Points for one Source Crystal. This means the ‘Rapid Fire’ Spirit is only enough to buy 1.5 Source Crystals, and a Card draw requires 3 Source Crystals. So, two One Wing Spirits are equivalent to one Card draw.

Spirits are, after all, Extraordinary Powers. Ashe clicked his tongue; the price was as cheap as a college graduate’s… He looked down at the hunting notes in his hand: “Then what’s this notebook?”

“It’s a Sorcerer Handbook!” Sonya looked at Ashe with a strange expression.

“Sorcerer Handbook?” Ashe was taken aback.

Sonya nodded.

“A Sorcerer Handbook somehow summarizes a Sorcerer’s life. For example, this Handbook records the hunting targets of the Gun Technique practitioner from their lifetime, showing that hunting was the most important part of this Sorcerer’s life. Hmm, it’s basically a Sorcerer’s diary.”

“But this isn’t a diary that the Sorcerer writes voluntarily. Rather, after a Sorcerer dies, their Soul automatically returns to the Virtual Realm to become a Sorcerer projection, and then their life memories settle down into a book—just like the natural laws of life, aging, sickness, and death, it is an unavoidable natural rule.”

“We collectively refer to this book as the Sorcerer Handbook.”

“If the Virtual Realm is considered the graveyard of Sorcerers, then the Sorcerer Handbook is their tombstone.”

It was only then that Ashe realized the Hunter he saw earlier was the projection of a deceased person. He had thought it was a living Sorcerer, wondering how he had encountered another Sorcerer so easily.

But even if it were a living person, he wouldn’t have held back, because dying in the Virtual Realm isn’t real death.

“Like the medal, the Sorcerer Handbook is also usable,” Sonya said. “You can absorb the handbook directly with your consciousness. This way, you can gain a random skill from the handbook’s owner that doesn’t fall into any Magical Factions—completely at random.”

Ashe asked, “Do you want it?”

“I don’t want it; I felt tired just by glancing at it,” Sonya shook her head. “But since you’ve read through the entire handbook, you definitely won’t be contaminated when you absorb it.”

“Contaminated?”

“The Sorcerer Handbook carries a risk of contamination. Generally, a Sorcerer can only read handbooks that align with their own worldview, values, and outlook on life. If you forcefully absorb an unsuitable Sorcerer Handbook, it can damage your Soul and might even lead to a mental breakdown.”

“Is it that serious?”

“It is serious, but it’s easy to prevent. As long as you don’t feel discomfort while flipping through a Sorcerer Handbook, it means that absorbing it won’t be a problem for you.”

At this point, Sonya also became somewhat curious: “From what I’ve heard, it’s considered good luck if a common Sorcerer finds two or three handbooks out of ten that they can absorb. There are even many Sorcerers who can’t find a single absorbable Sorcerer Handbook in their entire life… How did you manage to pick up a Sorcerer Handbook and absorb it without any contamination?”

Ashe naturally couldn’t answer this question. He followed Sonya’s instructions and guided his consciousness to touch the hunting notes in his hand.

The hunting notes turned into a stream of light smoke and flowed into his body. After a short while, Ashe felt as if a block of ice in his consciousness had melted, suddenly filled with many indescribable bits of knowledge.

He opened the ‘Operator Management’ in the game and discovered that he had acquired a new skill.

‘Anti-Reconnaissance Mastery’

As a Jungle Hunter and a soldier in wars, Cabin Storley must have honed this survival skill even if he had never formally studied anti-reconnaissance. For Ashe, who intended to escape from prison, anti-reconnaissance could be considered a handy little skill.

After Ashe absorbed the hunting notes, they realized that the island was sinking. The two hurried back to the boat, and soon, the island completely disappeared, leaving the sea surface eerily quiet as if nothing had happened.

“This is the wonder of the Virtual Realm; encounters are unpredictable, all for the sake of Inheritance,” Sonya remarked. “The Sea of Knowledge is dotted with countless Inheritance Islands, quietly waiting for new Sorcerers to discover them. Once a Sorcerer takes the Inheritance, the island will naturally return to the sea… Some say that the islands are the evolution of a Sorcerer’s obsession, remnants of ancient Sorcerers who hoped that future generations would remember their traces, which is why they placed their Inheritance on the sea.”

“The life traces of all Sorcerers are deeply etched in the Virtual Realm. Here we encounter the legacies of countless predecessors, cross paths with Gun wielders from hundreds of years ago, and converse with sages from thousands of years past—anything is possible… And our own traces will also be etched in the Virtual Realm. When a Sorcerer tears through the white mist hundreds of years from now, they may face the challenges you and I have left behind.”

“It sounds quite romantic.”

“Really? Do you think your life can be passed down to future generations without any concealment, allowing posterity to admire your great deeds?”

Ashe suddenly felt less romantic: “Can a Sorcerer delete some life records before dying, like ‘Study Materials’ or ‘Art and Life’ for instance…”

“How to die with dignity and how to live on the edge are traditionally the two major research projects for Sorcerers.”

Even though she didn’t gain anything and Ashe seemed to have gotten all the benefits, Sonya was quite relaxed, stretching on the boat: “Where to next? You decide, I’ll follow your lead.”

The battle on the island was definitely not thrilling, but if Ashe could always find Inheritance Islands like this one, Sonya would be more than willing to take the risk.

If she encountered a spirit from the Swordsmanship Department or a suitable Sorcerer Handbook even once, then she would make a huge profit.

For many Sorcerers, their hope is simply to explore the Virtual Realm safely, let alone stumble upon an Inheritance. Avoiding danger is already enough to make them feel fortunate and grateful.

“Let me see…”

Ashe opened ‘Exploration in Virtual Realm’, checking the conditions of the surrounding grid:

‘Waste of effort’, ‘Waste of effort’, ‘Waste of effort’, ‘Waste of effort’, ‘Better not go’, ‘Waste of effort’, ‘Waste of effort’, ‘Waste of effort’.

“Uh, what?”