Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 217: The Evolution of the Chariot!

As the Observer picked up an unremarkable piece of ore, Sonya and Deya cast urging glances his way.

Not all resources produced at a Resource Point are usable by Sorcerers; only about one in ten finished products contain Virtual Realm energy, evolving into the essence materials capable of nourishing spirits.

This is why only Knowledge Creatures can manage Resource Points—the production cycle is too long. Before Sorcerers can compel their spirits to extract materials suitable for themselves, their Soul Energy is nearly depleted, forcing them to withdraw from the Virtual Realm.

Only Knowledge Creatures, without any Restrictions on their stay, and even capable of surviving in the Static Domain, can operate Resource Points over extended periods. Moreover, Knowledge Creatures don’t just harvest but also consume these essence materials. Records indicate that the larger the Resource Point, the more Gregarious Creatures it attracts, perhaps because they can proliferate their kind by absorbing the essence.

Sometimes Large Creatures also raid Resource Points, but just as Sorcerers are no match for Gregarious Creatures, Large Creatures may not necessarily defeat them. However, the relationship between the two is not typically a matter of life and death. In most cases, Gregarious Creatures willingly give up some materials, as if paying a protection fee to keep the peace.

This is also why this White Velocidragon mine has so many stone materials. Apart from the White Velocidragon’s hoarding habit, they need to keep some essence materials for emergencies, to pay off Large Creatures when they come to plunder.

But whether Sorcerers or Knowledge Creatures, they all need only essence materials filled with Virtual Realm energy. As for other ordinary, dull, non-luminous stones, they are only fit for White Velocidragons to use for teeth grinding and playing dodgeball.

Then, in the next second, the Swordswoman and Witch saw the stone in the Observer’s hand suddenly turn to dust, slipping through his fingers and falling to the ground.

So that was it—he wanted to show off a newly learned Miracle that could instantly pulverize a stone?

Sonya and Deya clapped in admiration, and then they saw the Observer frantically blasting at the stones, swiftly clearing a pile at a time, before turning to another heap and beginning to inhale them like a storm.

It seems the Observer was under quite a bit of stress in reality… Sonya watched and felt a bit of pity, calling out, “Alright, alright, Observer, we all know you’re powerful. Stop wasting arcane energy—”

It was Deya who realized something: “Could it be, Observer, that you can make use of these useless materials?”

“Indeed!” Ashe said excitedly as he watched the stone in his hand turn to dust, a grey arcane glow flowing into the palm of his hand, “These are the real treasures of this Resource Point!”

“You have disenchanted a Virtual Realm Stone (Extra Large), receiving 6 points of Ore Essence.”

“You have disenchanted a Virtual Realm Stone (Medium), receiving 3 points of Ore Essence.”

“Are you sure you want to disenchant the Magma Stone (Special)? You have disenchanted the Magma Stone, receiving 15 points of Ore Essence.”

All the ordinary stones piled up in the Resource Point could be broken down by the game system into Ore Essence, and the essence materials could as well, with the essence amount being ten times that of the same volume of ore.

But the game seemed to assume that players wouldn’t break down essence materials, which is why there was no reaction when Ashe picked up the Sword Heart Stone.

Once Ashe had emptied this Resource Point, he had amassed a total of 950 points of Ore Essence! What was once a mountain of stones had become a hollow void, the ground covered only with a layer of stone powder, and the mining tunnels now felt spacious. Even the White Velocidragon shed tears at the sight.

Soon, Sonya and Deya discovered what use Ashe had for crushing those stones—when they saw him return to the sports car outside the mine, he spoke to the hood, “Upgrade, Evil Blade!”

Buzzing!

The sports car roared intensely, its front bumper starting to deform and cover over. In a few seconds, it had formed an extremely sharp edge, like a blade, leaving no doubt that this beast, once put into drive, could easily slice through any trash daring to stand in its way.

While his two companions were stunned by this transformation, Ashe eagerly inspected the Holographic Screen’s auto-vehicle enhancement blueprint.

“Evil Blade Level 4: Impact causes 400% tearing damage, energy consumption reduced by 60%. Ore Essence needed for next level: 600.”

Just by scavenging this Resource Point, he had upgraded the car’s blade to Level 4!

In addition to the “Evil Blade,” the same position on the vehicle could be modified with the “Vanguard Stone Shield,” which was clearly meant for defense. Only one modification could be made in the same position, and switching components required the removal of the existing one, with 50% of the essence returned upon disassembly.

Ashe felt that his upcoming exploration journey would inevitably involve a lot of reckless driving, so it was natural to prioritize the activation of the “Evil Blade” component.

More importantly, the essence he currently possessed was only sufficient to activate the “Evil Blade.”

There were exclusive car accessories such as “Petrifying Gaze” for the headlights, “Refractive Barrier” for the front window, “Poison Fog Surge” for the exhaust pipe, “Boiling Chainsaw” for the sides of the chassis, and even a seat accessory, “Alchemical Throne,” which could accelerate the absorption of Gold arcane energy. Each option made Ashe drool with desire.

However, the bad news was that all these accessories required a substantial amount of essence to activate, and not just a single type of essence.

For instance, to activate a Level 1 “Alchemical Throne,” one would need 200 Gem Essence, 200 Crystal Essence, 200 Mercury Essence, 200 Wood Essence, 200 Ore Essence, and 200 Gold Essence. Clearly, it would require scouring seven different Resource Points to gather all that was needed.

The good news was that it seemed only Ashe on the Time Continent had the ability to break down these useless materials to obtain essence, so there was no competition!

Given time, Ashe was sure to upgrade his auto-vehicle from the Deluxe Edition to the top-of-the-line version, and when that time came, he would be able to run amok across the Time Continent, annihilating people and Knowledge Creatures alike!

Now Ashe was full of motivation to pick up trash, urging as he got into the car, “Hurry up and get in, let’s aim to conquer another Resource Point tonight!”

Sonya and Deya quickly adapted to this change. After all, the Observer had already demonstrated many strange abilities. Compared to teaming up in the Virtual Realm, drinking Pure Radiance Special Drinks, and forcing Operators through Training and Entertainment, Ashe was now simply using ordinary materials to enhance the car, which was hardly something to make a fuss about.

This time, without thinking, Ashe took the front seat, and after a moment’s hesitation, Sonya decided not to hesitate and pulled Deya to sit in the back with her.

The White Queen looked on in surprise at the suddenly intimate Swordswoman and then said with a suppressed laugh, “Swordswoman, you are so cute.”

“Ah?” Sonya blushed, feigning pride as she turned her head away: “Of course I’m cute.”

But with just that light remark, Sonya’s resentment toward the new team member dissipated greatly.

Despite still being annoyed by the sudden addition of a stranger to the team, the Witch’s performance in the recent battle had proven she wouldn’t be a drag. Sonya grudgingly accepted the presence of the new member.

Sonya was just more emotional when she first entered the Virtual Realm; after all, it had been six or seven days apart, and the moment they reunited, the Observer brought someone new into the team. Wouldn’t anyone be upset? Couldn’t they have waited one more day to add her to the team, to give us time to chat privately first? A little heads-up wouldn’t have hurt, right? Why the need for such abrupt action?

Even if Sonya truly didn’t mind, she had to show her annoyance to make the Observer aware of her displeasure. After all, it’s the honest ones who are always taken advantage of, and while she hoped everyone else would be honest, she didn’t want to be the only one.

Her irritation wasn’t about the new team member encroaching on her benefits, but rather the action subtly revealed that the Observer didn’t trust her enough—would she really have objected that strongly? As long as you ensure this new member is helpful, I’d be more than happy to accept them.

But couldn’t you have chosen someone with more ordinary looks? Based on my experience, such beautiful women are usually troublemakers…

However, after calming down, the Red-haired Swordswoman also realized the new member’s value. She was a realist; as long as it didn’t involve her bottom line, she could set aside her emotions for the sake of benefits. She understood early on that sulking brought no value other than making oneself unattractive.

Nevertheless…

Sonya gently pushed Deya away and moved to the seat at the far left of the back row, leaning against the car door, arms crossed over her chest, gazing out at the Reverse Golden Rain with an air of “I’m aggrieved but I won’t say it.”

Look at me, I’m still upset, and I don’t want to interact with the new team member!

Look at me [○｀Д○]!