Sorcerer’s Handbook

By the time Ashe arrived at the restaurant, it was already close to 8 p.m., so naturally, he missed the chance to order the special Lala Fatty delicacy and casually grabbed some meat dishes to eat.

“Does the food taste better after a victory?”

Ashe looked up to see Valcas holding a cup of water, sitting down across from him.

“Honestly, these leftovers are a bit cold, and the Lala Fatty… you guys ordered it all.”

“You could order some food, you know. You won 37 Contribution points from me, it wouldn’t be too much to treat yourself with one or two of those points, right?”

“Huh? Order food? Spend Contribution points?”

“Don’t you know? Well, that’s right, you’ve just been here for a few days.” Valcas pointed to the menu board next to the restaurant. “You can order food at any time, regardless of the day’s menu restrictions. If it’s outside of the free activity hours, the restaurant will even deliver to your dormitory—as long as you spend Contribution points.”

Only then did Ashe notice that the menu board was for ordering food. He had previously thought it was just for show—See, leader, we provide so many dishes here! They really haven’t been skimping on the prisoners’ rations!

Suddenly, the menu seemed incredibly affordable. Any combination of three dishes only cost 1 Contribution point, such as ‘Seafood Lala Fatty’ + ‘Creamy Chicken Noodle’ + ‘Misty Spinach Egg Pancake’, which could make for a really good meal.

However, each death row inmate only started with 50 initial Contribution points. Not only were 10 points automatically deducted every month, but they were also necessary for applying for a Deathmatch. The lower your Contribution points, the sooner you appear in the Judgment sequence and the more likely you are to be called for the variety live show ‘Blood Moon Tribunal’.

Thus, in the prison, Contribution points represent not just a form of Currency but also the life quota of a prisoner. Spending Contribution points isn’t much different from a slow suicide… well, maybe there is one difference. With a slow suicide, you at least don’t know when you’re going to die, but with Contribution points, you can watch your life quota decrease more and more.

“There’s not much to do in prison, but if you want to spend Contribution points, you definitely can,” Valcas said. “Hair care, custom prison uniforms, specific hygiene products… You can even spend Contribution points for a better dormitory room. A three-bedroom suite with windows costs 1 Contribution point per day.”

“1 Contribution point a day? Are you insane? Who would live there?”

“Some do. ‘Diamond’ Taig has been living in that VIP Suite for years. His Contribution points are so plentiful he can’t spend them all. There’s always some fool newbies giving him their points. If we consider 1 Contribution point as equivalent to 1 Gold Coin, Taig inside the prison might be richer than he ever was outside.”

Ashe raised an eyebrow, “So you’re saying… we prisoners are worth just 50 Gold Coins in the prison’s evaluation system?”

“You think that’s too little?”

“Is it a lot?”

“For most people without a higher education, they couldn’t earn 50 Gold Coins in a lifetime, and even some less successful Sorcerers don’t make that much. If someone had an annual salary of 1 Gold Coin, they could live quite comfortably in Kaimon City.”

Ashe finally understood the real value of the Gold Coin in his possession, and he realized just how grim the Prison was—three meat dishes cost a person’s annual salary! Was the Lala Fatty made by someone with a Ph.D.?

“I’m suddenly finding the leftovers more appetizing.”

Valcas snorted and just watched Ashe in silence.

After eating for a while, Ashe couldn’t help but say, “Mr. Elf, I’m the type who can’t pee when someone’s watching.”

“Shh~ Shh~”

“I was just making a metaphor; you don’t have to whistle along with me!”

“I thought the youth of today enjoyed eating and peeing at the same time,” Valcas said with a smile, before his expression returned to one of indifference. “What I’m about to say is mostly to myself, mostly gibberish. If you overhear it, it’s best to act as if you didn’t.”

Ashe was taken aback.

“Professor Sylin Dole is not only the Chairman of the Kaimon City Elven Rights Association, a councilor of the Kaimon council, and a Professor, but he also has a hidden identity—one of the backers of the Woodpecker Gang. Publicly, he fights for the rights of other Races against the councilors of the sacred bloodline and Moonshadow Race, but in secret, he has already made many under-the-table deals with the Blood Moon Race councilors. The Woodpecker Gang is his black glove, and the mayor of Kaimon City, Fernand Snow, owes his position to him.”

“The Four Pillars Cult has been silent for many years, almost disappearing, except for an unsubstantiated rumor—that during the excavation of the Eastern Ruins eight years ago, there were whispers that important liturgical books of the Cult were uncovered. That same year, the Eastern Ruins were hit by a Virtual Realm storm, and most archaeological achievements were lost.”

“Professor Sylin Dole was the main advising consultant for the archaeological team that oversaw the Eastern Ruins excavation that year.”

“Sylin is a very patient Elf; at least, I’ve never seen any creature who can surpass him in endurance. If he wants someone dead, it means that person holds information crucial to him, information that could cause him significant damage if leaked.”

Valcas took a sip of water to moisten his throat and glanced at Ashe.

“Theoretically, the memories of most Death row inmates who enter Prison have been searched once, and if there were any information, it would definitely have been uncovered by the Sin Hunter’s Hall… unless someone’s memories weren’t searched.”

So that was it.

Although Ashe still didn’t know his relation to Professor Sylin, he fully understood why Sylin would go to such lengths to have him killed—he thought Ashe held a secret that had not yet been revealed!

Because of the Four Pillars Cult, the Sin Hunter’s Hall dared not search his memories, making Ashe Heath the only Prisoner in the Prison still in possession of secrets!

This was Sylin’s luck, for Heath hadn’t leaked his information;

But also Sylin’s misfortune, because Heath could report him at any time!

To tell the truth, if Ashe really knew such secrets, he would definitely report them to the Sin Hunter’s Hall immediately.

It’s not that he is a bad egg who harms others without benefiting himself; he’s just curious about Sylin and would like to become close ‘Prison buddies’ with him. And if there was a chance to clash passionately in the Arena during a Deathmatch, that would be even better.

But the problem is—Ashe genuinely doesn’t know any of Sylin’s secrets!

He hasn’t absorbed even a drop of the original owner Heath’s memories!

It’s frustrating—Ashe also wanted to use Heath’s memories to help the Sin Hunter’s Hall bring the bad guys to justice.

After all, there are so many lawbreakers out there, why should he be the only one caught?

Unfortunately, he knows nothing.

What’s even more infuriating is that others fear he’ll spill secrets, so they go out of their way to eliminate him!

Yet, he knows nothing!

This feeling is like being a kid who, despite not having stolen anything, gets wrongly accused by a teacher of stealing a classmate’s stationery.

“Hey, aren’t you leaving? You didn’t hear me talking to myself, did you?” Valcas stood up and said, “Let’s call it a day. I’ll look you up for a brainstorming session when I have time.”

“Really?”

“Haha, just kidding. When do I have the time, and where’s your brain?”

“Wait a moment, Valcas.” Ashe called out to him, “Why are you helping me?”

Although Ashe felt that Valcas, having lost to him, would provide some information out of spite, the manner of giving was not at all what Ashe expected—he thought Valcas would approach him with a harsh remark, something like ‘I’m the weakest of the Dark Quartet, defeating me is useless, our people will soon be after you.’

Ashe didn’t expect Valcas to defect so cleanly; was there a moral compass guiding him even when he was fighting?

“I’m not helping you.”

Valcas shook his head.

“I just want to cause some trouble for that bastard Sylin.”

Hurting others without benefiting oneself is indeed a very valid reason. Ashe, seizing the moment, asked: “Do you know if there’s a way to trade spirit in the Prison? If I can get a few Swordsmanship spirits, I might be able to cause serious trouble for Sylin—”

“That’s none of my business.”

Ashe was taken aback, deciding to take a more caring approach: “By the way, Valcas, you failed to kill me and lost to me, won’t you be in trouble—”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Then at least you should tell me how Sylin will deal with me next?”

Valcas glanced at him, leaving behind a remark before he walked away.

“You’ll know Sylin’s moves when we meet next.”

Ashe felt that Valcas’s fall to the point of imprisonment had something to do with his sharp tongue and Riddler-like nature.

But now, at least, he could be certain of one thing: the mastermind behind all this was definitely Heath’s former Professor, the Elven scholar, Sylin Dole!

After dinner, Ashe didn’t linger in the Prison but hurried back to his dormitory and directly called out.

“Swordswoman? Are you there?”

“Here, but not entirely.”

The Swordswoman sat on the bed, legs crossed, her deep black stockings outlining a graceful curve, propping her chin with her palm and looking at Ashe sideways.

“Something up?”

“It was you who reminded me during the Deathmatch, wasn’t it?”

Ashe extended his hand, and in his palm appeared the Substitute spirit, dozing off and rubbing its belly.

“The Chip is still Restricting my output of arcane energy, but why was I able to summon the Substitute spirit?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You grasped the knowledge of the Substitute spirit, and with the right conditions, you directly triggered a resonance with the spirit, which then automatically exerted its influence on reality. Other Death row inmates in the Prison use this method to activate their spirits as well.”

Although Ashe had heard this many times, he couldn’t help but marvel at the phenomenon: mature spirits could indeed cast spells on their own.

“But how did I understand the ‘Substitute’ spirit?” Ashe was still puzzled. “I’ve never learned anything about the Substitute spirit.”

“You did learn, and you understood.”

Ashe was taken aback, suddenly recalling the words the Swordswoman reminded him of.

“Is it because of this sentence? ‘If you feel pain, think of yourself as someone else, and then it won’t hurt’?”

“That’s right.” The Swordswoman nodded. “Once you understood that sentence, you naturally understood the spirit. Essentially, a spirit is a collection of knowledge. When you possess a spirit, even if you don’t actively study, the knowledge of the spirit will still seek you out.”

“Is it that simple?”

“It’s not simple.” The Swordswoman shook her head. “Understanding knowledge and comprehending knowledge are two different things… If you weren’t in extreme danger just now, covered in wounds, nearly dissipating, you wouldn’t have been able to resonate with the Substitute spirit. Merely learning is not enough; empathizing is a necessary condition for understanding a spirit.”

Ashe looked at the Substitute spirit in his palm, trying to delve into the spirit with his consciousness.

This time was a bit better than the last; Ashe could understand the stream of information fed back by the spirit, but he still couldn’t comprehend its structure. If a spirit is a dish, last time Ashe didn’t have a sense of taste and couldn’t discern the flavor of the spirit; this time, he could taste the spirit but didn’t know how it was made.

“You’ve reached the limit of understanding the spirit. Unless it’s a Lifeline Spirit you’ve summoned yourself, you can’t find its hidden Gate of Truth.”

The Swordswoman saw right through his intentions: “Only a spirit born from your own knowledge can lead you to its Gate of Truth. Spirits you acquire from other sources, no matter how deeply you understand them, are ultimately not yours.”

“The Truth must be pure and perfect, without a single flaw.”

Truth is really strict.

Ashe withdrew the spirit and looked towards the Swordswoman.

“Where have you been all this time?”