Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 216: Their Respective Modes of Transport

In the end, Ashe consumed a third of the Sword Heart Stone, Sonya two-thirds, and Deya wanted to show she could also play her part. Unfortunately, Ashe had neither the time nor a Fist and Claw spirit.

After the feast, however, there remained a plethora of Faction stones, such as those imbued with Fire Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Magic, and more. They picked and chose a few more to consume—Ashe’s “Earth Sword” could absorb an Earth Stone, his “Wind Barrier” a Wind Stone, Sonya’s “Killing Intent Sword” a Necrostone, Deya’s “Finger Silk” an Arrow Feather Stone…

Just as a Sorcerer may have many minor Factions in addition to their main one, spirits too are influenced by several secondary Factions. Ashe’s “Earth Sword” was a prime example, with Swordsmanship and Earth Magic influencing it in a ratio of about 7:3, hence the Earth Sword had about a 30% catalytic effect when consuming an Earth Stone.

After their selective consumption, half the Faction stones still remained. These stones could not be taken along since, upon a Sorcerer’s return to reality, it was uncertain where they might reappear upon their next visit to the Time Continent. Carrying the stones had no purpose, so they had to be either completely absorbed on the spot or abandoned.

Sonya and Deya had anticipated this, but Ashe, who always sought to make the most of every situation, felt it was a pity, examining the Faction stones he held. Sonya urged, “Hurry up and consume the rest of the stones, then we must continue our pursuit of the White Bull.”

“Mhm,” Ashe nodded, as he had voluntarily offered the stones needed by the Swordswoman Witch, so both readily agreed to let him have all the other unrelated Faction stones.

When Ashe summoned his Substitute spirit to absorb the Faction stone, the spirit was clearly reluctant, like someone who enjoys sweet tofu pudding being forced to eat a salty version, but alas, compelled by the Sorcerer’s dominance, it had to swallow it down.

Ashe found it amusing to watch, but while picking up the stones, he accidentally grabbed a dull, ordinary rock with no luster.

Suddenly, the game interface popped up.

“It turns out… it’s this.”

In the Blood Moon Kingdom, in an apartment built in the forties, Room 302 on the third floor, a Bewitcher college student looked at her spirit in hand, momentarily lost in thought.

The Fold-Ear Cat Little String hopped onto the table, extending a paw curiously to touch and discovered to its alarm that its paw actually passed right through the spirit. Startled, it stood up, warily eyeing the mysterious glowing entity.

The spirit had the appearance of a long-haired girl playing a sonata on the flute, resembling one belonging to the Sound Magic Faction. In fact, it was closely related to sound.

Its name was “Echo.”

This was a rare spirit that possessed the dual characteristics of both the Mind and Sound Magic Factions. It was capable not only of using sound to scout the surrounding area but also of making traces more concrete through sound. For example, it could manifest everything that had happened in an area, or everything a particular item had come into contact with, like replaying the past.

Of course, since the past is so vast, the spirit would manifest only things within the Sorcerer’s awareness, essentially replaying events the Sorcerer had witnessed.

Simply by using this spirit, Freya could easily get a job at the Sin Hunter’s Hall, not as a combat-oriented Blood Mad Hunter, but in the far less demanding and better-paying ranks of the Sin Hunters.

But Freya had never actually intended to summon this spirit. How could she have ever hoped to summon such a rare spirit? Her initial goal was “Suggestion,” and then, feeling it wasn’t quite her style, she shifted to “Charm.”

Because information on the Mind Faction was scarce in the Blood Moon Kingdom, Freya had to cobble together a ‘potentially useful’ study method using various materials collected from university, supplementing her studies with volunteer work in mental counseling, thus steadily advancing her expertise in the Faction Realm.

Tonight, after watching a Shadow Drama titled “Mudflower,” her fluctuating emotions resonated with the Virtual Realm, and her sufficient knowledge immediately gave birth to her first inheritable legacy—the Echo spirit.

Although it’s normal to summon a spirit whenever the Faction Realm is sufficient, Freya felt she would remember forever the idea that “watching Shadow Dramas could increase the chance of summoning a spirit.” Not only would she watch more dramas in the future, but she would also ensure this detail was recorded in the Sorcerer Handbook after her death.

While Freya had indeed read about the Echo spirit recently, she had no idea what was required to summon it, nor had she planned to. Yet, for some reason, it had been summoned.

…She had an ominous premonition.

Freya gazed at the spirit before her. Normally, a new Sorcerer receiving their first spirit would immediately test its powers. However, Bewitcher had no such intention.

Because this was her home.

The only traces within these walls belonged to an evil man, a mischievous animal, a lovely being, and her and Little String.

Bewitcher drew back the curtains, letting the grandeur of the Blood Moon cast a sweet hue over the bedroom. Then she lay down on her bed, searching within the spirit for the Gate of Truth, preparing for her first journey into the Virtual Realm.

She had long completed her knowledge preparation required before entering the Virtual Realm, and tonight the Blood Moon shone brightly, offering its “Blood Moon Shelter” to fortify her soul, reducing the amount of Soul Energy consumed while healing injuries within the Virtual Realm.

The Gate of Truth, a bridge to the Virtual Realm, sinks into the fog…

Contrary to the foolish rumors whispered behind the Curtain or the private chats at university, entering the Virtual Realm wasn’t like being squeezed through a rubber tube, nor was it the release that came from freeing oneself from physical constraints. If she had to describe it, Freya would say it was like being—naked.

Unrestrained yet still self-aware, as nudity is a candid confrontation with the world, so entering the Virtual Realm is a Sorcerer facing knowledge without any concealment.

As expected, she found herself submerged in the sea. Despite numerous practice sessions, Bewitcher still instinctively panicked—a natural reaction for any terrestrial creature suddenly surrounded by seawater, save for Merfolk Sorcerers. But she quickly adjusted, lightly kicking her feet to maintain balance, and opened her eyes to face this unfamiliar world.

White mist, a dark sea, silence, and a monotonous palette built an expansive prison, with boundless loneliness rushing forth. Yet for the residents of the Blood Moon, such a degree of solitude was barely tolerable, for they were trained from the starting line to resist loneliness.

Freya had encountered Sorcerers who experienced fear due to the loneliness and dangers of the Virtual Realm during her time volunteering for psychological counseling. These Sorcerers were mostly Human, with a few Goblins and Orcs, while it was almost unheard of to see an Ogre with such fears—not only because there were fewer Ogre Sorcerers but more importantly because Ogres could directly consume Moon Sugar to dispel their fears without the need for a psychiatrist to assist in treatment.

Moon Sugar was a panacea for psychological and mental ailments.

Aside from Ogres, Bewitcher Sorcerers rarely needed psychological counseling because they could heal their minds by resolving their desires, making psychological diseases extremely rare among their Race. This was considered a Talent of the Bewitchers.

Freya had prepared herself mentally before entering the Virtual Realm, much like mustering the courage to enter a newly opened Mud Café, ready to face everything unfamiliar.

However, as she turned her head, an anachronistic object abruptly entered her view.

A boat.

Bewitcher stared at it for a few seconds before her brain started to process—why was there a boat here?

After hesitating for a moment, remembering that death in the Virtual Realm wasn’t real death, she climbed aboard the boat to investigate.

There was nothing noteworthy about it; it was just an ordinary boat, without oars, drifting lonely on the Sea of Knowledge, like a pet abandoned by its owner.

She sat on the boat, looking up at the boundless white mist, feeling the tension in her heart dissipate significantly.

Just then, her body suddenly stiffened.

“Help, help, I’ve been ambushed by a Bewitcher at night, I’m going to be killed…”

“Hey, if you don’t want to die, hand over your Virtual Realm experience. I heard you need to swim in the Sea of Knowledge. How do you swim? Backstroke? Butterfly? Freestyle?”

“Hm? I haven’t swum in the Sea of Knowledge; I took a boat.”

“You could at least humor me. How can you treat me like a fool, there are no boats in the Sea of Knowledge! You forced my hand—”

“No, this is too much of a violation of the rules, I’m really going to die… Sword Barrier!”

Could it be…

Freya summoned her Echo spirit, staring at it for a while, causing the spirit to feel somewhat uneasy under her gaze, before she finally activated it.

The crisp voice swept over the Boat, vibrating the air into various distinct shapes. He had stood here, sat there, lain here, and sprawled there, over and over, densely packed. The Bewitcher looked all around, seeing only his traces.

Freya deactivated the spirit, staring at the Boat for quite some time, her thoughts inscrutable, and then—

“Die!”

“Die die die die die!”

“(╯Д｀)╯I hate this kind of clingy man the most… Ah!”

Kicking too hard, the Bewitcher sent the Boat off balance, flipping it over. However, the Boat seemed to have its own gyroscope system, righting itself and continuing to float on the sea, leaving only the drenched Bewitcher in the water.

She climbed back onto the Boat, lying on it and staring blankly at the sky shrouded in white mist.

“I was meant to soak in the sea, but you had to row the Boat and pull me up, then row away on your own. I was finally prepared to continue soaking, why would you leave the Boat to me?”

“An evil man like you should be locked in a basement, where I’d deal with you once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and three times at night.”

“But…”

Freya sat up and stretched languidly.

“There’s no reason for a Bewitcher to refuse gifts from the opposite sex; taking without giving in return is our sacred duty. I’ll accept this Boat with a clear conscience. But how should I use it without oars?”

She searched the Boat more thoroughly and finally found a strand of hair in a crevice of the Boat, which triggered a mechanism when pulled. A steering wheel rose from the center of the Boat, allowing direct control of its movement.

The Bewitcher looked at the hair in her hand, feeling it resembled something from her Little String.

“So…” Freya manipulated the steering wheel, driving the Boat through the dense white mist: “Wait for me, I’m coming after you!”