The Sorcerer's Handbook

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The lightning sorcerer recalled his nine-part segmented whip. The small boat had already reached the shore and was well within his attack range. He gripped one end of the whip with both hands and spun it in a deadly arc. Lightning coursed along the whip, scorching black grooves into the sand as he abruptly stepped back.

Sonya’s face drained of color. She dove behind Ashe. ”Be careful!”

But it was already too late. The lightning sorcerer lunged forward, crossing his arms and swinging both of his nine-part segmented lightning whips like clashing shears directly at Ashe!

This was the move that had haunted Sonya throughout the battle. It was not quite a Miracle, but the whip’s spinning motion, combined with the inherent properties of lightning, made it devastatingly powerful. Dodging it was nearly impossible, and a direct hit would rattle the soul, like stubbing a toe and shattering the nail.

Ashe raised an eyebrow and pressed his sword hard against the small boat. ”Quiet. You’re disturbing my contemplation of the universe’s ultimate truths.”

The Sword Barrier surrounding them shimmered with a faint golden glow and met the lightning user’s deadly whips head-on.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

The segmented whips wrapped around the barrier but failed to pierce it. Ashe’s sword had taken a few strange nicks, but in the Virtual World, such damage repaired itself almost instantly.

The lightning sorcerer’s bloodshot eyes darkened as he recited another incomprehensible poem, ”Flourishing in all splendor, dragons gleam and phoenixes shine.”

Lightning coiled around him. His veins bulged, and he slipped into a berserk state. He relentlessly struck the Sword Barrier with his segmented whips.

Sonya took a steadying breath and examined the Sword Barrier more closely. She noticed details she had missed before. The transparent shield wasn’t just for defense. It was composed of razor-sharp sword energy that could injure anyone who got too close and even shatter their weapons.

In the Virtual World, however, such subtleties were hard to appreciate. Weapons were projections of a sorcerer’s consciousness. As long as the wielder remained focused, the weapon’s durability was effectively infinite. Similarly, weapons had no inherent superiority. Combat in the Virtual World was a contest of soul power. Sonya had manifested only a wooden sword, but it could still cut through mountains and stone. Meanwhile, a real-world firearm specialist might find their expertise meaningless if their understanding of the weapon was shallow. Manifested firearms were simply weaker than their physical counterparts.

A sword barrier that combined offense and defense wasn’t the work of a single spirit. This was a Miracle formed from multiple spirits.

Sonya’s frustration grew. She had planned to flaunt the Water Moon Miracle, both to showcase her strength and subtly warn the Watcher not to manipulate her again. Instead, he had not only saved her, but also unleashed a defense-and-counter Miracle that rivaled Water Moon. She couldn’t help but wonder. Is he deliberately waiting for me to be in danger just to mess with my mind?

Meanwhile, Ashe studied the familiar Sword Barrier with an odd irritation.

He muttered, ”Sorry, I’m in a terrible mood.”

Raising a finger, he added, ”What I’m about to do is purely to vent my frustration.”

Clang!

A sharp note rang from the sword, drowning out the thunder[1]. The lightning sorcerer instinctively stepped back, spinning his segmented whips into two lightning shields to block the sword’s blinding strike.

Sonya’s eyes practically bulged. ”That’s the Swordheart spirit!”

She recognized the signature Sword Class spirit immediately. ”Where did you get the Swordheart spirit? Do you really know the Swordheart stance? Teach me! I’m begging you!”

Like a child discovering the most coveted bubble blaster, she could barely contain her excitement.

In Swordsmanship lore, anyone who possessed one of the Five Unmatched Secret Sword Spirits could build a perfect sword system around it. The Swordheart Spirit was one of these five. Beyond it, there were the Twenty-One Secret Sword Spirits and the Fifty Wondrous Sword Spirits. Despite being the lowest tier among the three, the Fifty Wondrous Sword Spirits were still formidable.

Sonya’s Wave spirit belonged to this tier. The first Duke of Vlozrada had built his reputation as a sword noble thanks to the Wave spirit, and in Cailleach, countless sword practitioners had sold themselves to the Vlozrada Family just to obtain one.

Having owned the Wave spirit herself, Sonya could only imagine the overwhelming power of the Twenty-One Secret Sword Spirits and the Five Unmatched Secret Sword Spirits.

Seeing the usually arrogant Swordswoman now in awe of his Swordheart spirit, Ashe couldn’t help feeling a little satisfied deep down. ”Don’t worry. Let me deal with this show-off first, then we can talk.”

”Mmhmm!”

Sonya eagerly watched the Watcher unleash his power. He summoned the Swordheart spirit, only to see it deflected. He thrust again, and it was blocked again. Then, he struck from behind, only to be stopped once more.

”You... still have plenty of room to improve your sword technique.”

”I’ve already drained his stamina and left plenty of openings. Don’t waste the chance for revenge I specially prepared for you.”

Hearing that, Sonya grew more convinced that the Watcher was some ancient monster brought back to life. No one could develop such thick skin without thousands of years of hardship.

Nevertheless, she restrained her complaints and launched herself at the lightning sorcerer. Ashe was equally active. He summoned his Substitute spirit and joined Sonya. Together, they assaulted the lightning sorcerer from three directions at once.

The lightning sorcerer was outnumbered and overwhelmed. With only his two nine-part segmented whips, he couldn’t defend against the triple assault. Following a final strange, poetic cry, he dissipated into smoke, leaving behind two spirits and a Sorcerer’s Handbook.

[Lightning Walk]

One-Winged Spirit

Requirement

- The medium must be conductive.

Basic Effect

- Releases a bolt of lightning.

Passive Effect

- Gradually enhances the body’s conductivity.

Signature Quote

- Fire enlightens wisdom, while lightning defends reason. When facing fools who ignore reason, you should know what to do.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Pattern]

One-Winged Spirit

Requirement

- Must first inscribe patterns on an object using the spirit’s excrement.

Basic Effect

- Most spirit effects will follow the pattern.

Passive Effect

- Patterns gradually fix in place until they can’t be erased.

Signature Quote

- The path lies beneath your feet, upon your body, and in your heart.

Lightning Walk resembled a praying mantis, while Pattern looked like a silkworm. Together, they formed a simple but effective Miracle combination. The lightning user would first inscribe the pattern, then channel lightning through it, amplifying a single-use bolt into a continuous, escalating attack. This explained the chaotic tattoos covering the lightning sorcerer’s body. They were actually circuits etched to channel his Miracle.

But beyond the Miracle itself, Ashe was more intrigued by one detail in the spirit’s descriptions.

”Hold on... do spirits... actually poop?”

Sonya replied matter-of-factly, ”Haven’t you seen spirits consume Gold or Silver Coins? If they didn’t excrete, the cycle would break, and coins would vanish over time. The Silver Coins you fed them just now might even be the result of a spirit’s waste from thousands of years ago.”

”Good thing I’m not a spirit,” Ashe muttered. ”When do they... you know... go? So I can prepare in advance.”

”How would I know? I don’t have that kind of voyeuristic habit.”

”Huh?”

”You don’t need to prepare. Spirits sneak out to relieve themselves. Their poops blow away in the wind and is rarely noticed. If you want to collect it, summon the spirit, feed it, then cover it and wait.”

”Sneak out? Without a practitioner’s permission?”

Sonya shrugged. ”Spirits have their own thoughts and lives. When you need them, they obey. ”They obey when you need them, but when your focus lapses, like when you sleep, daydream, or read, they take the chance to wander for fresh air. Sorcerers sometimes notice slow responses when summoning a spirit after being immersed in something for a long time. That’s just the spirit wandering too far to return in time.”

Ashe caught on. In simple terms, the spirits are just goofing off.

After a brief discussion, the Lightning Walk and Pattern spirits were handed over to Sonya. They apparently fetched a high price at the Sword and Roses University. Neither of them intended to keep the spirits long-term. Training lightning spells was grueling and punishing, and complete spirit sets would appear repeatedly during voyages through the Sea of Knowledge. A sorcerer would only be overwhelmed if they hoarded them all, so learning to make choices was an essential skill.

As usual, the Sorcerer’s Handbook belonged to Ashe. Sonya had glanced at only the first page before suffering a backlash and even running aside to gag. After a brief look, Ashe concluded it was merely a collection of cult rituals. Some of the methods were cruel enough to rival even what Heath had once done, which was notable given that the Four Pillars Cult was already one of the particularly ruthless ones.

After reviewing the handbook, Ashe learned a new skill, the Skinning Mastery. He thought, Good thing the skill has no target restrictions. It’s just what I need for hunting rabbits in the wilderness once I escape the prison.

With the spoils secured, Ashe sat casually at the bow while Sonya remained silent at the stern. Even after the Inheritance Island fully sank, the two shared a quiet moment.

Eventually, Sonya could no longer hold on and asked, ”Where did you get those Sword Class spirits?”

”Well, since you asked sincerely, I suppose I can graciously tell you—”

Sonya’s mind groaned. I knew it. He’s giving himself another chance to show off!

Indeed, Ashe had been eager to do so. He cleared his throat and summoned three spirits. On the left floated a golden One-Winged sword. In the center was a mud-colored Two-Winged swordsman, and on the right, a pale green One-Winged bird.

”Swordheart, Earth Sword, and Wind Barrier. Swordheart and Wind Barrier have one wing each, while Earth Sword has two wings.”

”Just obtained? So that’s why you were late. Was it just to get these three spirits?”

”You could say that,” Ashe replied, gazing into the depths of the white mist as though trying to track a drifting phantom. ”After all, their original owner just killed me once.”

1. Thunder is the sound of the lightning. ☜