Sorcerer’s Handbook

In the Black Robe Town of the Mirage Prism.

The whiteboard used for recording intelligence in the Foxlamp Ice Room hadn't been taken down. Although the Four Inheritances had concluded nearly a week ago, the exchange of information was a fundamental need for sorcerers. This need had long been suppressed among the Senlo sorcerers, and now that it had erupted, it wasn't going to be stifled again-much like how once you get used to sleeping naked, underwear becomes a nuisance.

Moreover, let's not forget that the Senlo wasteland was still embroiled in the war between the Qinyi Alliance and the Four Pillars Cult. Black Robe Town, being a crucial transportation hub, was constantly flooded with intelligence. At the same time, the new developments in the Virtual Realm made sorcerers eager to explore and exchange ideas.

"Why are there fewer dishes again? And why has everything gotten more expensive?" The pretty red-haired girl complained as soon as she sat down.

"Because the price of steak has gone up," the peach-like female manager lazily leaned against the counter. Her ample chest was flattened against the table, the buttons on her shirt straining like the teeth of a death warrior, barely holding on and threatening to pop at any moment.

"But I'm having the Lala Fatty combo, not steak!"

"But I eat steak," the manager shrugged. "If you don't like it, you can pay in gold coins. It's even cheaper that way."

Ashe was momentarily speechless and turned to Igor. "About tonight's dinner expenses…"

"The budget remains unchanged," Igor said calmly.

"Oh, don't worry about me," Harvey said. "If I really don't get enough, I can share Alice's meals. Chikara too, since he's Alice's slave anyway."

Alice… the meals for that corpse… I seem to remember…

Ashe covered his mouth to stop himself from retching. Chikara clearly had his own opinions but dared not speak, while Gwen nearly spat out her drink. Igor raised an eyebrow. "Who knew necromancers could be useful occasionally-your appetites have decreased, right? Perfect, eat less."

In recent days, the cost of living in Black Robe Town had skyrocketed as if it had grown wings, increasing exponentially compared to before the war.

The main reason was that gold and silver coins, as general equivalents that could serve as strategic resources, were naturally hoarded and reclaimed during wartime. This caused the value of the coins still in circulation to soar.

In theory, this meant that those with money could do nothing and watch their assets appreciate with the changing circumstances!

-In theory, that is.

However, gold and silver coins were divided into silver coins and gold coins. Gold coins were strategic resources for two-winged and three-winged sorcerers, as both two-winged and three-winged spirits could be nourished by gold coins. Two-winged and three-winged sorcerers were also the core combat strength and middle-level cadres of various cults.

In contrast, silver coins could only sustain a One-Winged Spirit, and One-Winged Sorcerers found it difficult to play a significant role in war, mostly serving as support personnel.

On one hand, you had the resources needed by support personnel, and on the other, the resources required by core combat strength. Naturally, the consumption rate of gold coins far exceeded that of silver coins. As the value of gold coins rose, the value of silver coins plummeted!

In a peaceful kingdom, the exchange rate of silver to gold coins might be 1:100, but in the past, Senlo was 1:150, and now it's nearly 1:1000. In a few days, it could even reach 1:1500!

Instances like the Foxlamp Ice Room, where silver coin prices have risen while gold coin prices have dropped, are not uncommon in Mirage Prism Black Robe Town. Even street vendors selling skewers are advertising 'super low prices' for gold coin payments.

The reason behind this is simple: silver coins are the main assets for ordinary people and One-Winged Sorcerers, and the consumption rate of silver coins is far lower than that of gold coins. During wartime, gold coins are akin to luxury goods, while silver coins are closer to 'general equivalents,' and thus, they are mercilessly harvested.

Initially, the cults tightened their gold coin reserves for strategic purposes, but now they're doing it to speculate. Whoever holds the most gold coin reserves can leverage economic advantages to crush other cults post-war. It's a chance anyone can see!

However, before economic victory arrives, an economic crisis is bound to erupt first. The reduction in dishes at the Foxlamp Ice Room is a sign; in a few months, it might close down with nothing to sell-silver coin depreciation is so severe that producers prefer bartering over accepting silver coins!

In other kingdoms, an economic crisis would be a serious social event. But in Senlo wasteland, where economics have lost their inheritance and there's no currency system, an economic crisis is hardly noteworthy-the cults are closer to a pastoral feudal society, capable of self-sufficiency even without commercial trade. They can endure until the holy war is won, and then all of Senlo will be theirs!

Moreover, with thousands dying daily on the front lines, can an economic crisis kill more efficiently than sorcerers?

It's tough for Ashe and other flexible employment sanctuary sorcerers.

After the high-intensity battle in Dreaming Celestium, Chikara, Igor, and Harvey's Three-Winged Spirits were famished, consuming nearly a month's worth of gold coins to recover, causing a sharp drop in gold coin reserves. Ashe also has the Heart Sword and Sword Mark, two Four-winged Spirits, which he dares not fully feed, maintaining basic combat power with just five gold coins a day, significantly increasing the team's expenses.

Daily living expenses could have been covered by silver coins, but with such severe depreciation, they dare not spend gold coins recklessly, naturally tightening their budget.

Yet, the Foxlamp Ice Room remains bustling, filled with lively chatter and cheerful voices. But the topic of discussion isn't the war; it's the recent changes in the Virtual Realm.

"My friend opened a real Void Gate and hauled back several boxes of gold coins!"

"That's nothing; my friend pulled a Blade Fish Dragon from the Void Gate!"

"Is it true that the basement has a high probability of yielding treasures?"

"But the chance of monsters appearing is also high. My… my friend's cult opened a Void Gate, and a horde of monsters suddenly rushed in, taking considerable effort to subdue."

Ashe and the others perked up their ears, listening to the surrounding discussions, and glanced at the new information on the whiteboard:

"Void Gate Spirit: Likely to yield virtual realm creatures such as Blade Fish Dragon, Foxlamp Dragon, Mud Fish Dragon, White Fast Gragon. Note: The drop rate might only be increased for a limited time."

"The same location, the same Void Gate Spirit, can lead to different places."

"On the horizon, the Void Gate Spirit's spellforce consumption increases significantly, and it often only opens gates leading to virtual realm turbulence (suspected). The lower the distance from the horizon, the higher the stability of the Void Gate Spirit, and the greater the probability of reaching a real location."

"Using the Void Gate Spirit in places piled with gold coins makes it easier to open gates leading to gold coin vaults (suspected)."

"Using the Void Gate Spirit after midnight reduces the probability of encountering virtual realm turbulence (suspected)."

"First, activate nine Void Gates leading to virtual realm turbulence on the ground; on the tenth time, activate the Void Gate Spirit underground, and there's a high probability it will lead to a real location (suspected)."

On the whiteboard, aside from the first two pieces of information which can be basically confirmed, the rest are filled with the mystical aura of 'suspected.'

All this information revolves around a new spirit-the Void Gate Spirit!

This spirit has garnered such attention not only because of its unique use but also because its drop rate is incredibly high, almost instantly flooding the market. Except for Ashe, who couldn't enter the Virtual Realm due to a soul injury, and the illiterate Raven, everyone else acquired this spirit during recent virtual realm explorations. It's practically as if nine out of ten spirits encountered are Void Gate Spirits.

Judging by its name, the spirit's proper use should be to open Void Gates, like creating a door on a wall-it indeed can be used this way. But soon, sorcerers discovered that if used on air, the Void Gate Spirit opens a door to an unknown destination!

Although most of the time it leads to destructive virtual realm turbulence, even if one is lucky enough to reach a real location, the other side could be land, seawater, lava, or thousands of meters in the sky. This discovery alone has expanded the Void Gate Spirit's applications-such as setting traps or using it as a defensive barrier.

But most importantly, the Void Gate Spirit might enable spatial teleportation!

A spirit capable of continuously creating random virtual realm passages!

Everyone can see the immense value of this spirit. In warfare, if it can open doors directionally, it could directly decapitate enemy command posts; in transportation, if it can open doors directionally, it could save countless transport steps, completing material exchanges in one go!

This is similar to the spatial teleportation arrays hosted by sanctuary sorcerers, but the cost is vastly lower! Moreover, spatial teleportation requires a sanctuary sorcerer to initiate, whereas a One-Winged Void Gate Spirit can be activated even by silver sorcerers!

Even though there are countless technical challenges to overcome along the way, the emergence of the Void Gate Spirit is destined to be a catalyst for the explosive growth of spatial sect technology.

Previously, the slow development of spatial sects was mainly because sorcerers had to reach the Distant Sky Domain to start, making it a niche field that relied heavily on the breakthrough of genius sorcerers.

Now, with the low-level Void Gate Spirit, countless silver sorcerers can delve into spatial sects, and some sorcerers might even major in spatial sects at the One-Winged or Two-Winged stages! With the lowering of the learning threshold, the era of spatial spirit explosion is imminent, and the regularization of spatial teleportation will accelerate rapidly!

Yet, compared to the grand narrative of historical progress, the Void Gate Spirit holds a more immediate significance for Ashe and his companions:

Going home!

No longer do they need to search for the gray fox heritage; with the Void Gate Spirit, they might open a Void Gate leading to Gospel, Blood Moon, or even Stars!

However, precisely because of this, the atmosphere within the peculiar team-composed of a Con Artist, a Necrophile, Raven Annihilation, disciples of the Four Pillars, Bishops of the Four Pillars, and former leaders of the Four Pillars-has started to become subtly tense.

Soon, Ashe finished his Lala Fatty meal, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied, and reached out to Igor. Igor handed him a money pouch, and Ashe weighed it, noticing something was off.

His lips curled slightly as he gestured for Raven to follow, then swaggered down the snack street, buying up everything in sight. Raven was initially puzzled by Ashe's sudden wealth, but upon spotting gold coins in the pouch, he understood immediately.

The two arrived at their usual corner, eating back-to-back as they always did. Ashe no longer hid his inner turmoil, his brows furrowing deeply, though it didn't affect his eating efficiency.

Raven, on the other hand, initiated the conversation: "Ashe, how many days have you been in Senlo?"

"Over two months, I think?" Ashe pondered, sighing, "So much has happened, it feels like time is crawling."

"Do you like it here?"

"Are you serious with that question?"

"Of course," Raven replied calmly. "I've never heard of or been to other Kingdoms. I'm not a sorcerer, nor can I enter the Virtual Realm… I've lived on this wasteland since birth. My life is bound to this land."

Ashe felt he was being a bit rude and adjusted his tone, speaking slowly: "Compared to the Kingdoms I've visited before, Senlo is too chaotic and disordered, with constant religious conflicts and no unified government… Every faction is exploiting the gray fox heritage to wage reckless wars against each other. I really don't like it here."

"But," he continued, "Senlo people are the most vibrant community I've ever seen. Despite environmental pressures, religious influences, and lifespan limitations, nearly every Senlo person has pursued those elusive ideals at some point. Even those who have joined the Four Pillars Cult-it's only after their ideals were shattered that they were tempted by the Four Pillars."

"Isn't that quite ordinary?" Raven asked, puzzled.

"If you've been to Blood Moon and Gospel, you'd understand how unique you are," Ashe explained. "Blood Moon, Gospel, Senlo… I find it hard to judge the merits of these three Kingdoms. Blood Moon is entertainment to the point of numbness, with civilians living peacefully, but most face brutal elimination as infants; Gospel is perfect in every way, except people's futures are predetermined from birth, laid out clearly; Senlo is flawed in every aspect, yet each of you strives to shine brightly. Unless the Demi-God collapses, I rarely see anxiety, hesitation, or confusion among you-all are striving toward their ideals and beliefs. If Blood Moon people become numb in entertainment, and Gospel people can't escape their comfort zones, then Senlo people shine brightly in adversity."

"Even if the Demi-God were to fall, some people's brilliance would not be dimmed by the night," Ashe paused, "and I'm talking about you, Tamashi."

Raven responded with a nasal "Hmm."

"The Transcendent Cult, the Twinborn Cult, the Bronze Law Cult, even the Tribulation Fire Chapel… While I don't agree with their methods, I respect their ideals. If everyone were just chasing after money, women, and power, this world would be far too dull."

Ashe looked up at the night sky and softly said, "Even though there are no stars, you all are gazing at distant ideals. By the way, do you know which cult's ideal I admire the most?"

Raven immediately replied, "Raven Annihilation?"

"It's the Tribulation Fire Chapel."

Raven was puzzled, "Huh?"

"Because I really like the ideal of the Fire Cat Demi-God: Allow ordinary people to wield spirits," Ashe chuckled. "It challenges the very foundation of the sorcerer system, threatens the interests of the sorcerer class. In other Kingdoms, such an ideal would be laughed at. But in Senlo, it has become a goal for sorcerers nationwide. The Tribulation Fire Chapel's pursuit of the glory of the Fire Cat Divine Era is truly appealing to me."

"If I hadn't lost to Silver Lantern, if I could have continued pretending to be the First Gospel leading the Tribulation Fire Chapel, maybe…" Ashe shrugged, "But there's no 'if.'"

"So, I don't like the land of Senlo," he concluded, "but I do like a certain era, a certain ideal, or perhaps… a certain person."

"You don't have to worry about my feelings," Raven said. "I was just making small talk."

"Ask Igor when I've ever cared about anyone's feelings?" Ashe scoffed, then curiously asked, "But why are you suddenly interested tonight? You rarely start conversations, and even when you join in, I always feel like you're eyeing Igor's neck, looking for the best angle to chop it off…"

Raven replied, "Because you've never mentioned when you plan to leave."