The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 194: The Woven Festival and the Echoer

The Book of Gospel was a gift from the Omniscient Weaver, a divine miracle beyond the reach of ordinary mortals, a machine capable of granting any wish, and the very foundation of the Gospel Kingdom. Yet in the end, it was still just a tool. No matter how extraordinary, a tool worn down by time would inevitably lose its divine edge. To wield it skillfully marked the wisdom and instinct of a true sorcerer.

Annan said with a smile, ”If the Book of Gospel is like a spiderweb spread across the nation, then an agency is just a bug crawling through its gaps. The Book never makes mistakes. It’s simply a little slow to respond.

”By transferring talent before the rankings are announced, you can sway the standings of two entire cities. Rules like this are everywhere. The Book won’t let us directly obtain someone’s location or personal information, but we can achieve the same end with clever phrasing. You can’t ask for their position, but you can ask about the location of their vehicle.”

Annan tapped the rim of her wine glass. ”An agency’s job is to exploit known loopholes to complete all kinds of commissions. It’s a dangerous line of work because the Book of Gospel doesn’t make mistakes. It’s merely slow. And when it senses abnormal vibrations in its web, audacious bugs who dare defile it meet the fate bugs deserve.”

Iger frowned. ”If the Book hates bugs like you exploiting loopholes, why does it allow you to appear on the rankings?”

”Because there are gaps in the web,” Annan said softly. ”As long as even a single opening exists, there’s room for agencies like ours. When agencies are finally wiped out, that will also mark the moment reality itself crumbles.”

Ashe shuddered. ”The Kingdom where everyone competes endlessly for rankings? Sounds more like hell than heaven.”

Harvey shrugged. ”I think it’s fine. A sorcerer’s corpse from sudden death is excellent material.”

Annan looked at Iger and gestured toward Ashe. ”Was the Blood Moon Kingdom really harsh enough that even those who despise competition could still become Two-Winged sorcerers?”

Iger replied with a hint of exasperation, ”Again, you can’t judge an entire kingdom based on individual behavior. So people like us from foreign lands are just tools for you to exploit? The contract lasts 101 days, and there’s an important ranking evaluation during that time?”

”Exactly,” Annan said with satisfaction. ”Mr. Perskin, I would have loved to invite you to the Funeral Agency before, but now that’s impossible.”

Iger’s expression darkened. ”Miss Annan, I don’t think revealing your intentions to kill us 101 days in advance is wise.”

Annan spread her hands. ”You seem to have a deep misunderstanding of me. What I mean to say is if you take part in my plan, not only will I gain benefits beyond words, but you will also transcend the mundane and stand at the very peak of the world.

”I never fear your revenge because in 101 days, you will only feel gratitude. Our goal isn’t an ordinary ranking. It’s the once-in-fifty-years Woven Festival.”

The words stirred an old memory in Ashe. Because our goal is to ring the bell at Nasdaq...

He suddenly recalled the days when he had just graduated, brimming with naïve ambition. Back then, his boss painted the future in bold, grand strokes, so blunt and dazzling that Ashe had nearly flushed with excitement. Then reality followed. The advanced flexible work schedule that paid no overtime, and the excellent learning platform that required him to juggle multiple roles for a single salary. In the end, youthful fervor gave way to exhaustion.

And now we’re bound by a contract that could apparently grant us almost anything we desire... We’ve already signed this unfair deal, so why is she still putting on a show and selling us dreams? What’s the point of all this sugarcoating when she’s already forced our hand? Thorough, I’ll give her that.

Annan explained, ”The rankings in the Book of Gospel, as well as the information you can exchange for, all reflect events that have already happened. If you want information about the future, it’s not only prohibitively expensive, but in most cases, nearly impossible to obtain, unless it concerns foreign visitors like yourselves. The Book dedicates additional predictive resources to them for national defense purposes, which is why I was able to welcome the three of you with such precision.

”The rankings released during the Woven Festival are different because they reflect a future that hasn’t yet fully taken shape.”

Iger’s eyes flickered. ”Future? Are you saying...”

”For example, if the Four-Winged Sorcerers’ Power Rankings are released during the festival, the listed names likely won’t be the legendary sorcerers known today, but those who will rise over the next fifty years to dominate their era. Some might still be unnoticed apprentices or newborns. Yet under the Book’s weaving, their fates are carved into history, and we can hear the echoes of the future.

”To distinguish them from ordinary ranked Chosen, those who appear on the Woven Festival rankings are called Echoers, echoes sent back by the Book after observing the future.

”The Woven Festival runs from May 10 to August 10. Every ten days, a new future ranking is released. There will be ten in total. Unlike ordinary rankings, these future ones come with custom rewards, including Experience Orbs, rare spirits, valuable items, and even permanent Miracles.”

Harvey caught on. ”So if we make the rankings, you want us to hand over our rewards for you?”

Annan smiled faintly, letting the question hang for a moment before continuing. ”There’s a hierarchy among the rankings. I trust you understand that.”

Everyone nodded in understanding. Clearly, national rankings outweighed regional ones, organizational rankings surpassed individual standings, sorcerer rankings held more weight than those of non-sorcerers, and Four-Winged sorcerers’ rankings stood above the One-Winged. Simply put, the more difficult a ranking was to enter, the greater its prestige.

”Of the ten rankings at the Woven Festival, only the tenth is predetermined; the other nine are entirely random,” Annan explained, tapping her fingertips lightly against the long table. ”Last time, there was even a ranking called the Flower Rope Trick Ranking. That’s why each ranking comes with a hidden score to distinguish the relative positions of the Echoers. And the Echoer with the highest hidden score receives the Omniscient Weaver’s gift.”

”What kind of gift?”

Annan’s green eyes sparkled with excitement as she raised a finger, pointing upward. ”A wish. Any wish you can imagine—reviving the dead, attaining immortality, surpassing the Four-Winged, or even traveling through time and space!”

Iger’s pupils widened sharply. Harvey froze mid-bite on his finger, while Ashe narrowed his eyes in thought.

After a long pause, Lys rested her chin in her hands, staring at the crimson-gold dragon lizard perched on the table. ”That’s... wonderful. I have a wish too. I think I have a little sister... I really want to see her.”

The tension in the room lightened immediately. Iger stroked his ring thoughtfully. ”So this wish is your goal?”

Annan nodded. ”Exactly. I won’t claim any of the rewards you earn from the rankings. But the wish tied to the highest hidden score... that one I must have.”

Ashe spoke up suddenly, ”How can you be so sure we’ll even become Echoers in the future rankings? I’m single, lazy, and honestly not very confident in anything else.”

Iger replied calmly, ”Our identity. Whether we become Echoers has nothing to do with our current talents. It’s because of our status as outlandes.”

Ding.

Annan flicked her earring and smiled. ”Do you know what information the Book of Gospel uses to predict the future?”

”The past,” Iger answered.

”Exactly. Family, environment, resources, genetics... It’s simple. A child born into privilege, with educated, caring parents and learned neighbors, has a clearly exceptional path ahead. Conversely, someone born poor, orphaned, timid, and unremarkable will have a future that is just as predictable.”

”The Woven Festival takes this vast past and transforms it into countless threads, weaving a future that is certain, undisturbed, and inevitable. For someone born within the Gospel Kingdom, the Book of Gospel can chart their future with absolute certainty, even before they draw their first breath.”

”But we’re outlanders,” Harvey said, glancing at his fingers that were almost about to bleed from constant biting. He licked the wounds calmly. ”The Gospel can only fully cover this kingdom. Even if the Virtual World briefly connected with the Blood Moon, it can’t know our distant pasts.”

”Exactly,” Annan said. ”Without enough past to reference, the Book must base its predictions of your futures almost entirely on the present. In other words...”

She summoned a Two-Winged spirit shaped like a moth to on her fingertip. ”You can use the present to deceive the Book of Gospel, weaving a future far more spectacular than it could have foreseen. In short, you are the most dangerous bugs in the Gospel Kingdom’s web.”