Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 297: The Virtual Realm Map Surrenders

After resolving the misunderstanding between mother and daughter, the daughter’s friends were naturally treated well.

Ashe and the others were escorted to a fully equipped suite, where they were free to do as they pleased, except they could not leave the room. Annan told them to rest well tonight, and if they weren’t sleepy, they could take a walk in the Virtual Realm. They would discuss important matters tomorrow.

Throughout the conversation, Annan kept her face hidden behind the Gospel, and even Igor, with his usually suspicious nature, didn’t object and nodded in agreement to Annan’s requests.

Without a doubt, Annan had not brought them to Fanmula simply to visit her mother or for sightseeing. She had a triple win in mind: seeking refuge here was the first win; pushing her mother’s Family forward as a Scapegoat was the second; and then using the special Area advantages here to help Ashe and the others ascend the second future Ranking List was the third.

However, Ashe couldn’t figure out how exactly Fanmula was supposed to help them. Was it to forge a heart capable of ostracizing and isolating the entire city?

As Ashe pondered, the sports car was already nearing the border of the Star Hall Area.

On the Virtual Realm’s grand map, the light points representing the Sorcerers traced an intelligent path across the boundless Black Lake, rapidly approaching the lush Star Hall Area.

If one were to raise their viewpoint and observe the map of the Time Continent as a whole, they would notice several curved paths in the dark Area outside Star Hall, marking the trails of their explorations over the past few days.

Connecting these paths end-to-end, one could see a twisted, circular shape.

A few days ago, by observing the Virtual Realm’s grand map, Ashe and his companions had uncovered a secret of the Time Continent’s operation:

The path walked by the Chariot of the Bull was circular.

The White Bull did not walk straight ahead but with a slight arc. When it completed a circle, the Time Continent also went through a time cycle.

This was not unimaginable. According to the Swordswoman, many Sorcerers had speculated that the White Bull was merely circling around the Time Continent, as it couldn’t possibly be infinitely large. It was just that other Sorcerers lacked a Virtual Realm Map and could not confirm the exact trajectory of the White Bull.

Although they didn’t come to a conclusive understanding, they vaguely sensed that the White Bull’s regular circular running mechanism likely concealed even deeper secrets unknown to others.

After many days, Ashe and his companions once again entered the Star Hall Area with a complete Map. Tomorrow, they would be able to thoroughly scavenge the unique resources of the Star Hall Area—

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded in the distance. A violent storm broke through the Curtain of the Reverse Golden Rain, directly triggering the Refractive Barrier of the sports car, causing ripples to spread!

Trees nurtured by the River of Flowing Gold snapped one after another, and bushes half a person high toppled over. Even the haughty Reverse Golden Rain had to avoid the Whirlpool of battle!

Ashe slammed on the brakes, and the sports car skidded across the grass, forming the trajectory of a doughnut as it came to a stop. Sonya and Deya were already prepared for Battle: “Where’s the enemy?”

“Outside… our line of sight!”

Ashe looked at the Virtual Realm Map, and within a 25-tile radius around them, all were marked as a “waste of effort” safe zone. This meant that the attack had come from beyond the exploratory range of the Virtual Realm, a long-range strike!

Boom!

Thump, thump, thump!

Not far behind the layers of the Golden Rain Curtain, a massive group Battle was unfolding. The roar of energy annihilation, the mourning churn of the earth, and the rhythmic symphony of blood and flesh were composing a disaster symphony that affected the entire Area.

Even though they couldn’t see the traces of their adversaries, the notes splashed out from their Battle were enough to devastate the nearby ecology!

Ashe daringly drove the sports car a bit forward and finally saw a blood-red alert in the corner of the Area:

“Warzone (many, a large group, an enormous amount of Knowledge Creatures)”

No further information was provided, but the three Sorcerers knew the significance of this message—they had encountered a war between heroic soul legions!

Unlike the previous heroic commander who casually strolled the streets with a few dragons, the factions in this war had brought a large number of armed subordinate creatures, making their clash as devastating as a landslide and tsunami in the Virtual Realm!

Without any discussion, Ashe immediately drove away—under such circumstances, even the most adventurous would turn into a conservative Sorcerer!

However, their approach had already drawn the attention of both sides in the war. The dazzling Reverse Golden Rain suddenly parted, creating a pathway in the air. A semi-transparent golden spirit rapidly crossed hundreds of meters, fiercely plunging into Ashe’s body.

[You’ve arrived just in time, Demilo, use your invincible Logistics Magic to escape…]

[…]

[You… are not Demilo?]

[Ah, so cold. I don’t want to return to that colorless world, I don’t want to… No, no, let me sleep, don’t wake me up again, stop… mocking me.]

Before Ashe could even react, his Soul Summoning spirit emerged on its own, explaining the changes that had occurred:

“This spirit has successfully absorbed a spirit of the same name, unlocking new troop types ‘Gryphon Weather Sorcerer,’ ‘Barrier,’ ‘Star Prayer,’ and ‘Meteoric Warrior.’”

“Star Hall Gryphon Weather Sorcerer: Wind Magic, Water Art, Thunder Magic cause +20% Soul Damage. 3 layers of armor, humanoid creature, equipped with a Gryphon mount and the Miracle ‘Star Tide.’ Each unit consumes 4 soul power.”

[Star Tide: Targets a single individual, inflicting mixed damage from wind, water, and thunder.]

“Star Hall Barrier: Any attack causes +15% Soul Damage. 11 layers of armor, humanoid creature, equipped with a shield. Each unit consumes 5 soul power.”

“Star Hall Star Prayer: Long-range Attack causes +45% Soul Damage. 4 layers of armor, humanoid creature, equipped with the special Miracle ‘Starfall.’ Each unit consumes 10 soul power.”

[Starfall: Minimum chant time of 1 second, maximum of 60 seconds, launches a large area attack of falling starlight on a designated Area, which cannot be altered once selected.]

“Star Hall Meteoric Warrior: Melee attacks cause +60% Soul Damage. 7 layers of armor, humanoid creature, equipped with special Miracles ‘Meteoric Strike,’ ‘Starlight Path,’ and ‘Chaotic Starcloud.’ Each unit consumes 15 soul power.”

[Meteoric Strike: Your next strike is augmented with the power of stars, ignoring enemy armor.]

[Starlight Path: You can transmigrate through obstacles, including enemies, city walls, and defensive barriers.]

[Chaotic Starcloud: You have a 30% chance to dodge all attacks. Each successful dodge refreshes the cooldown of ‘Meteoric Strike.’]

“You have absorbed the ‘Blaido’s Commander’s Handbook’”

“Please select 2 rewards—”

“Star (Blaido exclusive reward) (Locked selection): You are the embodiment of the will of the stars. Under your command, the chant time for Miracles by Star Prayers is reduced by 50%, Miracle power is increased by 150%, and they gain an additional layer of armor.”

“Command of Archery, Advanced (Optional): You know how to use ranged troops to achieve strategic objectives, and you gain a vast amount of experience in shooting Factions.”

“Offensive Tactics, Advanced (Optional): You are undoubtedly a master of offense, and you gain a large amount of experience across all Factions.”

“Financial Management, Advanced (Optional): When arming troops, the consumption of Soul power is reduced by 50%.”

Incredible!

Both the unlocked troop types and the skills from the Commander’s Handbook indicate that the golden spirit that rushed over is undoubtedly a heroic soul commander of eternal renown!

Yet, even such a formidable commander was driven to flee in panic!

Ashe didn’t dare look back, desperately driving the sports car away from the Warzone. Sonya also felt the ominous killing intent approaching from behind, her whole body tensing up in terror, and Witch Deya’s hair even started to change color!

At this point, they hadn’t even seen the enemy yet, but a deep-seated fear akin to encountering a nemesis had already taken hold!

Flee, flee quickly!

Ashe checked the Virtual Realm Map, only to find that the surrounding 25 Area had already surrendered before him, the cruel red almost spilling out of the screen onto him.

“Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger”

“Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger”

“Danger” “Danger” “I” “Danger” “Danger”

“Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger”

“Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger”

“Is it still possible to pray to the Virtual Realm now?” Deya’s voice was frightened into a duet.

…

“It’s over.”

As Banjeet applied a hydrating face mask to Annan after treatment, Annan suddenly sat up, looking even worse than when she had been hit by her mother.

“Although the partner has changed from Miss Nona to Lady Qenna, it should still be within your plan, Miss…” Banjeet was a bit puzzled. “And the injuries are much lighter than expected… It seems Lady Qenna still has some affection for you.”

“No, I’m not talking about that old woman.” Purple Moth said, holding her head, “Have you forgotten? Our Azura’s strongest firm, what we specialize in is…”

“Virtual Realm Assassination.”