The Sorcerer's Handbook

Among the Divine Miracles of the Six Nations, the Spiderweb was unique in possessing conventional teleportation capabilities.

Scenes like the Spider Tower Legion's sudden assault on the great wooded fortress had played out countless times over the past millennia. Even Denzel herself had personally orchestrated dozens of such ambush operations. The reason conceptual incarnations were so vital was that they did more than just enhance unit types. They served as direct extensions of the Divine Miracles themselves.

In the war of the Six Nations, fighting without the protection of a Divine Miracle was no different from running naked into battle. Denzel's decision to eliminate the Incarnation of the Stars at all costs had been entirely justified. With it gone, the Star Hall could only build its armies around their remaining three concepts, meaning they could field at most three simultaneous fronts. Any more would be impossible. Each additional conceptual incarnation meant another deployable strategic unit, and one more battlefield where their Divine Miracles could exert influence.

Thus, after losing the Incarnation of Secrets, Denzel already knew that under normal circumstances, they stood no chance of victory. The Spider Tower now had only two concepts left, meaning it could deploy only two major armies at once. It lacked any meaningful strategic depth and could barely manage self-defense.

The next time the White Ox made its round, if Ashe and his companions still refused to march obediently to their deaths, Denzel would be forced to dispatch elite units to raid the Blood Tomb or the Star Hall, triggering a war through the Spiderweb. Otherwise, once every other faction completed their strategic Divine Miracle development, the Spider Tower would be reduced to a mere spectator watching the rest of the world shine.

Ashe and the others didn't fully grasp the nature of Divine Miracles, but the purple glow radiating from the Conjuring Spirit and the matching trail left by the sports car made one thing unmistakable. It was glaringly obvious that the Empress had used them to further her own ends.

"Why didn't she use this trick to capture us before?" Dia asked, having switched back to her original persona at some point. Perhaps after being hunted so relentlessly by the Empress, she had developed a bizarre touch of Stockholm syndrome[1], constantly searching for even a trace of humanity in her pursuer. "Could it be she actually showed us mercy?"

Ashe responded, "Maybe utilizing this ability demands too much energy, and we weren't worth the cost just to chase down. Or more likely, the Incarnation of Secrets only activates its tracking-smear function once we enter the capital city... Honestly, it's my first time seeing a spirit literally defecate its way across the map."

Sonya wondered aloud, "Purple, green, and conceptual mutual exclusion... Conceptual incarnations might be far more important than we imagined. They could very well determine the outcome of the Virtual World war. No wonder the Empress was so determined to crush the Incarnation of the Stars, and so intent on hunting us... Hey, Watcher, why do you still not know how to use a conceptual incarnation after getting one?!"

Ashe replied, "Good question. I'd also like to know why I can get someone's contact information and become friends, but still not be able to get married. Here's a hypothesis that isn't necessarily correct. Maybe there's still a step in between, like a process of mutual honesty?"

Buzz!

The car's sudden acceleration cut the Swordswoman and the Witch off mid-conversation, spewing a toxic mist as it fled. At that moment, Denzel finally sensed something amiss.

She had never actually intended to capture Ashe and the others. The sports car was simply too fast, and the Spider Tower forces could only materialize behind them, lacking any real means of intercepting it. So, when she saw them momentarily stationary, she hadn't immediately split her forces. Only when Ashe and the others bolted again did she realize something was off.

Why are those two women constantly looking back at that man? Is he performing some kind of absurd stunt with his nose?

Denzel didn't know the exact details, but as a master of high-stakes sabotage, she instantly sensed the enemy was bound by some kind of unusual restriction. Reacting decisively, she split off one-seventh of her forces to give chase. If she could exploit this vulnerability and reclaim the Incarnation of Secrets, the operation would be an absolute triumph.

Directly ahead of Ashe and his group, however, was a small detachment of the local Legion of Heroes returning to the fortress. The commander had no idea why a massive army had suddenly locked onto them, but he quickly made the tactically sound decision to sacrifice his troop to buy time, doing everything possible to delay the Spider Tower forces. The small unit rapidly deployed into battle formation, establishing a defensive line on the spot to withstand the incoming impact.

From above, it looked like a solitary sports car charging straight through a small army, with an entire legion hot on its heels.

Inside the vehicle, Ashe lowered the front passenger seat, turning the interior into a makeshift bed. "Get down!"

The three of them lay flat, staring at each other wide-eyed. From the periphery of their vision, they could see the car tearing through a storm of artillery fire. Occasional stray hits caused the chassis to emit strained, metallic groans. The Refractive Barrier had completely shattered. If they dared to stick their heads out, they would be instantly shot down.

Fortunately, the car's Evil Blade had been upgraded to level six, unlocking a unique ability. It could reduce the friction coefficient of anything it collided with to zero. In other words, no matter what obstacle the car hit, even if it failed to slice through it, the target would simply slide away instead of blocking their momentum. This allowed the vehicle to glide forward with extreme fluidity.

Just when it seemed the car might finally disintegrate, the three of them instinctively held hands. Looking into each other's eyes, the paralyzing fear of death felt strangely diminished. It was like going to the restroom together. The entire experience became fundamentally different when shared.

Suddenly, the car slammed into a major obstacle. A thunderous explosion rocked the chassis, and a wisp of green smoke drifted inside from the chaos, flowing directly into the Conjuring Spirit and causing it to pulse with a vibrant green glow.

"Conjuring spirit has successfully assimilated a fragment spirit of the same name. New unit types unlocked."

Available Unit Types

- Green Oasis · Temple Initiate: Grants a +10% melee damage bonus against a soul. Features three layers of armor and possesses the ability to restrict enemy escape. A humanoid unit equipped with curved blades and lassos. Each unit consumes 1 soul energy.

- Three-Colored Anchor: Features three layers of armor and a 40% Anchor chance. Each unit consumes 3 soul energy.

Ashe froze for a moment, then realized an enemy commander must have died nearby. Perhaps not directly from their collision, but certainly shortly after the car tore past. Only then could the Conjuring Spirit have absorbed a fragment spirit.

It really was only a trivial gain, with a single unit type unlocked. Back in the day, even Demilo had not been this stingy. On the bright side, the Twin-Colored Anchor had been upgraded into the Three-Colored Anchor, and its trigger chance had doubled from 20% to 40%. With this boost, their chances of safely crossing the River of Flowing Gold were significantly higher.

Soon enough, Ashe and the others realized they were finally safe. They had returned to the area with the Ascending Golden Rain.

Seeing the familiar torrent of golden droplets defying gravity and flowing upward into the sky, the trio was so profoundly moved that tears nearly welled in their eyes. They could not help but hug each other and cheer.

This is the place where sorcerers belong! What Oasis? What Spider Tower? They can stay locked together and cling to each other for all we care, but please stop disturbing proper sorcerers like us!

***

Deep inside Oasis.

Denzel watched as Ashe and his companions successfully escaped back into the curtain of rain. Shaking off the minor setback, she ordered her army to resume the assault.

Still, she couldn't help feeling somewhat helpless. During the pursuit, a small Oasis patrol unit had happened to cross paths with the sports car. Mistaking the Spider Tower forces for a grand invading army, the patrol had hastily established a defensive line to hold them back. The Spider Tower forces swiftly annihilated the detachment, but the brief distraction had bought just enough time for the battered sports car to wobble away and escape.

Those sorcerers are really lucky.

Or perhaps, the Spider Tower's own luck was simply starting to decline.

With seven holes still unpatched, the current Spiderweb remained incomplete. Not only was it incapable of activating its ultimate weapon, Fate Weaving, but all its secondary effects were also significantly weakened. Had the Spiderweb been whole, abilities like Entangle, Corrode, and Omniscient Veil would have been enhanced by an additional 2.33 times.

More critically, because the Spiderweb was woven from the literal threads of fate, an incomplete web meant destiny itself became flawed. The more the Spider Tower relied on it, the harsher the backlash from fate became. In practice, this manifested as a gradual decay of the entire faction's luck. Under this curse, commanders could go out merely to gather resources and somehow end up dead at the hands of a passing sorcerer.

Boom!

Suddenly, the spiral structure deep inside the Oasis fortress erupted in roaring flames, illuminating the entire chaotic battlefield. Across the main city sector, all flora began to mutate and grow wildly as if suddenly sentient, wrapping around and entangling the Spider Tower soldiers. Simultaneously, the Oasis troops were heavily empowered, instantly rallying and nearly pushing the Spider Tower front lines all the way back to the breach.

Yet, Denzel showed no fear. Instead, a grim smile spread across her face, her eyes alight with anticipation.

Oasis had finally activated their own strategic Miracle, the Silent Spiral. Now, Oasis would also be barred from completing their ultimate weapon.

More importantly, the Spider Tower had successfully dragged Oasis into the muddy depths of this conflict. From this moment on, as long as they seized this fortress, Oasis would be forced to trigger the grand war ahead of schedule right alongside the Spider Tower.

"We activated the Spiderweb early. The ultimate weapon is out of reach, but the remaining effects can still be enhanced," Denzel murmured, seemingly projecting her voice to an unseen entity across the battlefield. "Now, we must exploit information gaps and local advantages to expand our territory. Hurry and accelerate the update process. Repair the remaining seven holes as fast as possible. Do not worry about quality. Even if it breaks later, it won't matter. The decisive battles will ignite within the next few rounds. As long as the web holds during this window, that is enough."

After a heavy moment of silence, Denzel seemed to catch a satisfactory response through her connection. A pleased flush colored her cheeks. "Don't worry. Just as I have for the past thousand years, I will continue to secure victory for you. My light of life, my flame of desire, my original sin... my Isa."

1. Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response where a person in a situation of captivity, abuse, or extreme power imbalance begins to develop positive feelings toward their captor or abuser. Just thought it'd be funny to incorporate this into the novel. ☜

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