The Sorcerer's Handbook

During a brief lull in their battle against the boss Foxlamp Dragon at a massive, Mercury-filled Resource Point, Dia stepped back and nudged herself next to Ashe. She whispered, "Watcher, why don't you just apologize?"

"Even if I want to, I need to know what I actually did wrong first," Ashe replied, his voice laced with helplessness.

"But if you didn't do anything wrong, why is she this furious?"

Before Ashe could answer, the Foxlamp Dragon let out a final, mournful cry and collapsed, dropping three spirits and an Experience Orb. Among them was a Two-Winged Flow spirit, which served as the perfect replacement for Ashe's current One-Winged version. The other two, a Two-Winged Moonthread spirit and a Light Orb, were ideal for boosting the Swordswoman's strength.

When Ashe extended his hand to pass them over, Sonya snatched them away instantly, as though even a microsecond of physical contact with him might contaminate her.

From the sidelines, Dia shook her head repeatedly, her expression loudly broadcasting, See? I told you so. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, only turning away to pretend to loot when the Swordswoman shot a sharp glance in her direction.

Ashe was utterly baffled. He genuinely had no clue how he had crossed her.

The Swordswoman had been acting strangely all night. Her attitude toward him wasn't just frosty. It was worse than when they had first met. He racked his brain but couldn't pinpoint the trigger. He hadn't scolded her during their last session, and neither of them had even logged in yesterday. How had she suddenly reverted to this cold, domineering version of herself?

He analyzed the situation logically. He hadn't drawn any new cards recently to trigger a character event, so it couldn't be his fault. That meant the issue had to stem from her own reality.

Did the show she acted in flop, leaving her at the mercy of brutal critics? Did she lose a competition and get mocked by her anti-fans? Did her classmates betray her... or maybe there's a traitor in the Claw-Stretching Club? Or... could it just be that time of the month?

With far too many variables and zero answers, Ashe decided to take the plunge. Under Dia's awestruck gaze, he walked straight up to Sonya. "Swordswoman, there's something I want to say."

"Speak," Sonya replied coldly, sorting through the harvested Mercury materials without so much as looking up.

"I don't know what put you in such a foul mood, but taking it out on innocent bystanders isn't right."

Sonya finally paused and looked up at him. "By 'taking it out on bystanders,' do you mean venting my frustrations on unrelated people?"

"Exactly."

"Then rest assured, I'm not doing that."

Dia nearly choked trying to suppress her laughter. Defeated and entirely out of moves, Ashe could only turn around and focus on collecting the remaining Mercury Essence.

They were currently navigating the Star Hall region. Having previously acquired the Star Hall map from Demilo, they essentially possessed a master key to the entire area. Normally, a commander's map could only be used on the night the commander was defeated. However, thanks to Ashe's unique Virtual World Map, a one-time item had effectively become a permanent fixture, allowing the trio to enjoy a meticulously planned exploration.

Ashe no longer blindly prioritized special landmarks in the Virtual World. Those areas were scattered too widely and offered inconsistent rewards. The Amnesia Cabin, for instance, would have yielded very little even if the Empress hadn't intervened. The Legendary Library had been highly profitable for Ashe, but the Witch had walked away empty-handed, though her own greed had admittedly played a large part in that.

In contrast, gathering resources to upgrade the Alchemical Throne was a guaranteed win. Accumulating mana always yielded tangible progress. Furthermore, these Resource Points frequently dropped spirits and Experience Orbs. Bearing this in mind, Ashe plotted a course that intersected as many Resource Points as possible. If their luck held out, they could upgrade the Alchemical Throne by several levels before the night was over.

However, just as they rapidly cleared their fifth Resource Point, Ashe noticed an anomaly on his map. A Legion of Heroes was converging on their position.

Since they were in the Star Hall territory, there was no logical way the Empress' personal legion could have pursued them here, so Ashe didn't panic. He simply steered the vehicle along a detour to bypass them and headed toward the next Resource Point.

Yet, the moment they finished looting the next site and stepped outside, they realized the Legion of Heroes was already right on top of them.

Several Thousands-Feathered Bird Dragons ambushed them from a distance, their attacks rattling against the car's Refractive Barrier. Ashe slammed on the gas, accelerating to break away. Fortunately, this specific legion seemed light on troops and failed to lock them into close-quarters combat, making their escape relatively straightforward.

However, the encounter left behind a glaring, deeply troubling question. How could a Legion of Heroes belonging to the Star Hall faction pinpoint their exact location so flawlessly?

"I think my dear mistress has been a bit too obsessed with me..." Ashe muttered through gritted teeth, gripping the steering wheel. "Did she actually leak our coordinates to every single faction?"

It was the only logical explanation. Realizing she could no longer hunt down Ashe and his team on her own, the Empress must have broadcast their location, and likely the method to track them, to every rival faction across the continent. She might have even dangled the Incarnation of Secrets as bait to lure the other factions into joining the hunt.

As for why she did it, knowing full well she risked losing the Incarnation of Secrets? The answer was simple. She knew she no longer had any chance of catching them herself!

The Empress most likely didn't know that Ashe and the others had nearly died crossing the River of Flowing Gold. But the mere fact that they could cross it already placed them in an unbeatable position. No matter how powerful a Legion of Heroes was, they could only stare helplessly at the riverbank.

If she couldn't have them, then no one else could either. By releasing the information and letting every faction hunt Ashe and his group, the worst-case scenario for her was the destruction of the Incarnation of Secrets. The best-case scenario was that Ashe and the others would exhaust their soul energy across other regions. By the time they reached the Spider Tower, they would be unable to cross the River of Flowing Gold, making them easy prey for the Empress Hero.

If she withheld the information, her legion would never catch Ashe, who held the power to cross the river.

In that light, even a fool would know which choice to make, let alone an Empress as vicious as she was.

Besides, even if a conceptual incarnation were destroyed, causing all related spirits to collapse, it would eventually regenerate. Losing the Incarnation of Secrets was a heavy setback, but a recoverable one. Even from within the Static Zone, the Empress could ruthlessly hunt them down until they were utterly exhausted. However, if Ashe and the others managed to bring it permanently into the third layer of the Virtual World, it would mean an irreparable disaster.

Of course, there was a simple way to counter this. Ashe and his team could just stop entering the Virtual World altogether, choosing only to log back in once they reached the Spider Tower region. But if they did that, their growth would slow to a crawl, and it would take an eternity to reach the third layer. Meanwhile, the Empress Hero would gain endless opportunities to set traps and lay ambushes. It was a chain of hidden, interlocking links, where every step only tightened the snare.

When Ashe broke down his thoughts, the others drew in sharp breaths. Dia asked, "Then what do we do?"

"We race against time to grow. Our car is faster than the Legion of Heroes. Before they can track us down, we loot the resources and leave. As long as we have a detailed map, we can still carve out the time and space to develop, even while being hunted!"

Both Dia and Sonya knew the Watcher's plan made perfect sense, but it still felt unreal to them. Most Two-Winged sorcerers explored the Continent of Time with extreme caution, where encountering even a single Violent Slashing Dragon was considered an extraordinary sight. Yet here they were, planning to grow stronger while actively surrounded and hunted by the most dangerous force on the continent, the Legion of Heroes.

They couldn't help but wonder, Is this really a burden that Two-Winged sorcerers are meant to handle?

Even so, neither Sonya nor Dia felt any fear. After surviving so many near-death experiences and even defeating a Legion of Heroes themselves, they were no longer easily intimidated. Instead, hearing that the legions were coming after them only stirred a surge of spiteful defiance within them.

Ashe suddenly came to a halt outside a garden enclosed by wooden railings. Inside, white mist swirled, shimmering with radiant light as faint, ethereal singing drifted through the air. "We're here."

Sonya froze. "Is this the Mist Miracle Garden?"

"Get in there and grab the spirits!"

The moment Ashe finished speaking, the three sorcerers dashed inside, activating their movement-enhancing Miracles to snatch up the spirits. The Mist Miracle Garden was a place where spirits hid within dense fog, meaning sorcerers had to rely entirely on luck to catch them. Once someone entered, the fog would quickly disperse, and the spirits would vanish, only reforming after a set period of time.

Ashe lunged again and again, but failed to catch a single spirit. "Hey!"

He felt like a spoiled young master chasing after beauties, except he was more like a clumsy shut-in, watching every target effortlessly slip through his fingers. Am I really going to walk away empty-handed this time?

He took a deep breath. The spirits here loved to sing, so he needed to track them by sound. Sound, sound, sound... There!

He lunged precisely toward the source, only to collide with someone with a heavy thud. The two of them tumbled onto the grass together.

He looked up and saw the foul-tempered Swordswoman from earlier sitting right on top of him. He sucked in a breath. "Sorry, that was an acci—"

Sonya leaned down and quickly covered his mouth. "Shh. The Witch isn't nearby, is she?"

"(⊙_⊙)?"

The village girl grinned. "Hehe. So? Did I put on a good show today?"

Ashe blinked. "What? Your bad temper today—"

Sonya winked at him. "It was all an act! That way, the Witch will definitely think our relationship is strained, right?"

Why would you do this...

Without even having to ask the question out loud, Ashe already knew the answer.

Just as he had noticed the structural cracks within the team, the Swordswoman had seen them too. While Ashe was still figuring out how to fix it, she had already come up with her own solution. If the Witch thought their bond was too strong to trust, they just needed to make it look broken. The method was simple, crude even, but the Witch was still naive and inexperienced. It worked perfectly to deceive her.

Ashe let out a long breath. "Phew... I thought—"

Sonya widened her eyes, starlight flickering within them. Her brows curved as her lips curled into a sly, fox-like smile. "You thought I had suddenly started hating you?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd done something to offend you."

"You've offended me plenty of times."

At that point, Sonya seemed to realize their position was a bit inappropriate. Her face flushed a brilliant red as she scrambled off him and sat to the side. Ashe sat up as well, saying thoughtfully, "So, from now on, we interact like we did today?"

"What do you think?"

"I think it's pretty good. It actually makes things easier for me, too—"

"Then tomorrow I'll tell the Witch I've forgiven you, and everything can go back to normal. It already worked, anyway."

Ashe glanced at her. Sonya tilted her head. "You're not... mad at me, are you?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"If it were me, I'd definitely be mad..." Sonya lowered her head, her index fingers fidgeting together nervously. "Honestly, I almost couldn't keep up the act earlier. I kept trying to find a chance to explain it to you, but the Witch was always nearby."

Ashe crossed his arms, looking troubled. "Going back to normal is fine, but if you want to 'attack' me like you did just now, it's best to wait until the Witch isn't around—"

"I would never do that!"

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