Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 294: Family Dream

“Stimulants, excitants, Joy Potion, spirit transmutation drugs, Genius mixtures… long ago, Alchemists have been seeking ways to reconcile with this user-unfriendly, trashy reality.”

“Generally speaking, even if magicians are willing to endure, reality only becomes more demanding and exacerbates. The miraculous drugs they develop either have a very high barrier to use, limited to the magicians themselves; or they possess a strong toxicity that even medical wizards cannot counter, damaging the brain.”

“So, is there a non-toxic alchemical potion that can be mass-produced and benefit everyone?”

“There actually is.” Annan spread his hands, “A special pheromone extracted from Mermaid’s Stinkweed, an absolutely safe component of joy, non-toxic and non-addictive, with no side effects regardless of the dosage. Therefore, various drugs prepared from Mermaid’s Stinkweed quickly circulated throughout the Gospel nation, like the Catnip Cigarette you have in your hand, Mr. Harvey.”

“How can there be such a convenient creation?” Igor frowned. “In the Blood Moon Kingdom, such a miraculous plant that seems to be a fantasy doesn’t exist—”

Purple Moth laughed, “Of course it doesn’t exist there because it is a miraculous plant cultivated under the guidance of the Gospel, unique to the Gospel nation.”

The three were taken aback. The Gospel?

It actually made sense—being a Gospel that could answer all questions, how could it not be used in scientific research? Especially in experimental science, guidance from the Gospel is a tremendous advantage.

Before each experiment, the Gospel could eliminate all potential hazards; when encountering a bottleneck, just opening the Gospel could reveal the next steps; upon discovering an unknown component, asking the Gospel could clarify its uses… Compared to Magical Factions, basic science is the greatest beneficiary of the Gospel, and probably, in these thousand years, the basic sciences in the Gospel nation have never stagnated!

Igor frowned and asked, “Doesn’t the Gospel prevent the production of Joy Potion?”

“Because it’s not as serious as you think,” Annan said calmly. “In fact, the highest level of Joy Potion available to the general public is the Catnip Cigarette in Harvey’s hand. Moreover, a special ingredient has been added to the Catnip Cigarette to increase the smoker’s aversion, so even the strongest Orc can only smoke one pack a day without reaching the threshold for increased tolerance.”

“Most Joy Potions are sold only to corporations, such as ‘Rosemary’ which is paired with central air conditioning to effectively increase the productivity of an entire company’s staff; or ‘Fourteen Spices’ specifically used in the food industry, which can enhance the dining experience for customers…”

“Nothing exists that is only harmful without benefits, especially since Joy Potion is the ‘Sacred Blood’ pursued by Alchemists. How could they discard it? As long as it is used judiciously and moderately, Joy Potion can be beneficial and harmless to society. And…”

“You also have the Gospel,” Ashe interjected. “As long as the Gospel helps regulate, the harmful effects of Joy Potion can be virtually eliminated.”

“The same goes for Beauty Mist,” Annan continued. “Processed Beauty Mist can become a nutrient for cities, and sorcerers naturally consider whether the city might ‘overeat’. Guided by the Gospel and their own exploration, the sorcerers of Fanmula have found a perfect path—the Family Reincarnation Dream System.”

Purple Moth looked at the Con Artist: “Mr. Bukin, as a Mind Sorcerer, you must be aware that some miracles can directly extract positive emotions from their targets, right?”

“Extracting positive emotions and increasing negative emotions is a rather common assassination technique among Mind Sorcerers,” Igor explained. “If the target happens to encounter a significant setback, it can even induce them to commit suicide.”

“Thank you for your answer,” Annan nodded slightly. “In the world of sorcerers, positive emotions can be treated as a resource. It can even be said that without this resource, a person’s mental state can quickly deteriorate.”

“But too much of this resource can overwhelm oneself. Now, the situation in Fanmula is that everyone has an excess of emotional resources, so the solution is quite obvious.”

“Collecting positive emotions?” Igor looked puzzled. “But—I won’t ask how you collect them, but manipulating emotions requires delving deep into the Soul. Surely you can’t sneak into someone’s mind like I do? It would only be possible if every citizen willingly exposed their Soul, like leaving their house doors open at night for all to see inside… That’s riskier than being physically naked!”

“Of course, it wouldn’t be appropriate among strangers.”

Leaning against the wall, Annan spoke slowly: “But what if it’s among family members?”

“A mother with her son, a daughter with her grandchild, a sister with her nephew, a brother with his nephew… Bound by Bloodline, fortified by family, everyone happily merges into the collective, sharing their joy, lowering the threshold.”

“The concept of Bloodline identity is indeed fascinating. When it’s strong enough, it can suppress individual will to the extreme.”

“This was originally a fanciful idea, but after centuries of development and countless Sorcerers contributing, they have woven the happy emotions of numerous family members into layers of dreams, ultimately creating an indescribable Bloodline Miracle.”

“When family members close their eyes, they can immerse themselves in these dreams at any time, entering a fantastical world woven from countless happy emotions.”

“In the dream, if you crave solitude, it carves out a small world just for you; if you seek someone to share and confide in, a listening family member will meet you; if you seek answers, a wise family member waits beneath a tree; if you desire a passionate romance, perhaps the next person will spark the flames of Love with you.”

“Every action you take consumes your positive emotions. Once these are depleted, you naturally leave the dream and return to reality.”

“As you spend these emotions, you gradually develop a belief in this family. You begin to think your happiness comes from the family, from Love, and all your pleasant memories bear the mark of ‘Love and Family.’ You forsake your smaller self, entrusting your spirit to the great family.”

“The chronic ailments brought by Beauty Mist will soon disappear, replaced by a more formidable disease: Familial Love.”

“Wait a minute!” Ashe exclaimed in surprise. “The reincarnation dream sounds just like—”

“Like the Virtual Realm, right?” Annan smiled. “I haven’t finished yet. In the Mind Faction, information is stored in increasing order of magnitude: ‘thoughts’, ‘will’, and ’emotions’.”

“Thoughts are just short snippets of memory, while will is a group of thoughts that form a memory cluster with a strong directional focus. Emotions, on the other hand, are the accidental byproducts of the collision between will and memory.”

“Even if all the positive emotions here are catalyzed by Beauty Mist and are of the lowest quality, they still contain a lot of information. What do you think happens when people actively immerse themselves in dreams woven from these emotions?”

“Pieces of past memories are absorbed and digested by contemporary individuals…” Harvey shook his head. “Disgusting.”

Annan nodded. “Yes, in the dream, if you’re lucky—or unlucky—enough, you might resonate with other memory fragments, absorbing their knowledge and emotions. As for digestion… well, it’s hard to say who digests whom.”

“Qenna, a pure-blood political creature, isn’t something that can be shaped by reality alone. I suspect she inherited the dirtiest essence of the past several Patriarchs of Senhaeser, which is why she radiates the stale, moldy scent of expired Elves from her hair to her nails.”

Beauty Mist, Family Reincarnation Dream System… Ashe and the others felt as if they had been slapped, their minds overwhelmed by a torrent of information.

This could be the setting for a new main stage in the story, right? Isn’t Fanmula going a bit too far with such bizarre settings even for side stages?

And Beauty Mist is one thing, but to counteract it with the Family Reincarnation Dream System… It sounds like inventing a machine that transforms poop into stir-fried beef ho fun just to eat a bite of shit.

After all, the Family Reincarnation Dream System is much more significant than Beauty Mist. It’s essentially creating a mini Virtual Realm specifically for knowledge Inheritance. As the reincarnation dreams continue to expand and draw enough emotional nourishment, they might indeed become a family-exclusive Virtual Realm—

“Actually, it’s not as good as Miss Annan described,” Banjeet said. “Knowledge reincarnation does happen, but it’s a rare occurrence, maybe once a year at most. Most people just treat the Reincarnation Dream as a place for leisure and Entertainment, a way to release extra happiness.”

The Butler Youth explained, “The most powerful aspect of the Family Reincarnation Dream isn’t the reincarnation itself, but the Family. All the family members who join the same dream, even if they have never met each other, will find their bloodline bonds and subconscious impressions gradually deepening, eventually forming an almost intuitive bloodline recognition.”

“You must have been wondering why we were surrounded and watched by everyone when we walked on the street just now,” he continued. “Apart from us, all the others belong to ‘the same Family’. They look at each other and feel a close kinship, even if they do not know each other’s names, but they know they are family members who can be honest with each other.”

Ashe and the others immediately understood—their behavior while walking on the street was akin to intruding into someone else’s private family gathering and causing a disturbance, no wonder they attracted such attention.

“So,” Igor, who was responsible for “leading the smart to inspire the smarter,” summarized, “Beauty Mist provides endless joy to the city’s residents, hence work efficiency, resident satisfaction, and the level of public safety are unmatched in the Gospel Kingdom.”

“But to prevent this pleasure from damaging the citizens’ minds, Sorcerers created the Family Reincarnation Dream, allowing citizens to channel their excess joy into the dreams. Over centuries, the dreams and the sorcerer families have grown to completely dominate the city of Fanmula.”

“Almost everyone living here has joined this operational system, and outsiders are accurately identified by the locals.”

“Beauty Mist has catalyzed happy citizens, Beauty Mist has given rise to a vast Family, and Beauty Mist has isolated Fanmula from the Gospel Kingdom.”

“Very well summarized,” Miss Annan said. “There are virtually no omissions.”

The Con Artist was silent for a moment: “…So why did we come to this den of iniquity that devours people without spitting out their bones?”

“Wait a minute,” Ashe raised his hand. “Aren’t you going to discuss why the Reincarnation Dream so closely resembles the Virtual Realm? Could it be that the Virtual Realm—”

“Some Sorcerers have long suggested that the Virtual Realm is a grand dream woven by all beings. This is a well-known theory, though no one can prove it,” Igor said dismissively, waving his hand. “Adults are speaking, children should not interrupt!”

Lise reached out to cover her father’s mouth, while Ashe tapped his daughter on the head.

“For outsiders, Fanmula can indeed be quite dangerous,” Banjeet remarked. “But Miss Annan is not an outsider.”

Everyone turned to look at Miss Annan, whose mouth twitched as if she had swallowed a cockroach. After a moment of silence, she admitted reluctantly, “I lived in Fanmula for a while when I was a child.”