Chapter 27: Sorcerer's Handbook

Ashe had almost forgotten that the Sorcerer's Handbook allowed in-game purchases. He had always assumed that the daily check-in rewards of Source Crystals were the only way to draw cards, but to his surprise, this world actually had a currency the game recognized.

Value aside, this discovery invigorated him. It filled him with the same renewed motivation he once felt when a boss patted him on the shoulder and said,

"Work hard, and the next promotion will be yours."

The odds might be slim, but at least there was hope.

Even so, he didn't dare recharge the medal recklessly. He could already tell it represented the extraordinary foundation of this world, and the very source of power sorcerers pursued tirelessly—a spirit.

"Do you want this spirit?" he asked.

To his surprise, Sonya showed no interest. "Do you want it? If you do, take it."

Ashe stared at her. "This is a spirit. Why don't you want it?"

"It's neither a Sword Class spirit nor a universal one. It's useless to me and would only drain my money."

That left Ashe confused. "What does money have to do with it?"

Sonya couldn't help feeling he was subtly mocking her for being poor.

If he could already steer the boat in the Virtual World, shouldn't he know the basics of sorcery by now? Or is he one of those rich types who never have to worry about feeding their spirits, like the completely clueless nobles in stories who don't even know basic logic?

She had never expected to meet such a rare specimen. Nevertheless, she still took the time to explain.

Through her explanation, Ashe gradually understood that spirit ecology was far more complicated than he had imagined.

To begin with, spirits had to be fed with money. Silver Coins and Gold Coins were their main sustenance. One-Winged spirits consumed Silver, while Two-Winged ones needed Gold. A spirit left unfed would eventually fade away. Poor sorcerers could literally starve their spirits to death.

Other materials could also be used as food, but each spirit required something different, making management cumbersome. Therefore, coins became the universal choice. Over time, most sorcerers simply fed their spirits money because they couldn't be bothered to figure out what else worked.

On top of that, just owning a spirit drained a sorcerer mentally. A sorcerer with many spirits was like a man juggling too many girlfriends. Both his wallet and his stamina would give out. For low-level sorcerers, especially those with proletarian sensibilities, chasing after quantity did more harm than good. Choosing a few high-quality spirits was the practical path, and they would selectively pick the spirits that suited them.

Next came the usage restrictions. Spirits were divided into classes. Sword Class spirits required the sorcerer to wield a sword. Gun spirits required firearms. Brute Body spirits relied on physical strength, while Fist spirits required mastery of hand-to-hand combat. Those spirits with strict requirements for their sorcerers were called class-specific spirits, or specialized spirits. The Wave spirit was a clear example. It required a sword to activate.

Spirits with minimal requirements, or ones most sorcerers could easily meet, were called universal spirits. A prime example was the Eagle Eye spirit, which demanded almost nothing from its sorcerer. As long as the sorcerer had eyes, it could be used.

A sorcerer's collection usually included both specialized and universal spirits. Ideally, one should avoid collecting more than two classes of specialized spirits and carefully manage universal ones to avoid keeping dead weight.

Even if Sonya had accepted the Rapid Fire spirit, she would sell it immediately. Keeping it would only waste her money. The reason she wasn't interested in it was simple. It was that the Rapid Fire was worthless to her.

"Rapid Fire is a relic from the flintlock era centuries ago. Nowadays, automatic rifles and handguns fire seven rounds a second. One extra shot from Rapid Fire means nothing. You could use it on mortars or ship cannons, but better spirits exist for those weapons, too, so nobody uses Rapid Fire anymore. Spirits that fall behind the times sell for at most one Silver Coin, and that's the minimum price for a One-Winged spirit."

Ashe knew Sonya was a university student, but he had always treated it as just another game detail and never thought much of it.

"Then I'll take it."

"Go ahead," Sonya replied casually.

Ashe activated the exchange. The medal dissolved into a swirl of white mist, and a notification appeared.

[Recharge successful! You gained 10 points.]

The lowest purchase in the game cost six points per Source Crystal, so the Rapid Fire spirit was only worth one and a half crystals. One card draw needed three crystals. In other words, two One-Winged spirits equaled a single draw.

The price was astonishingly low for something considered an extraordinary power in this world. It was almost like the modest salary paid to a fresh university graduate.

Ashe clicked his tongue and glanced at the notebook in his hand. "What about this notebook?"

"It's a Sorcerer's Handbook," Sonya said, giving him a strange look.

"A Sorcerer's Handbook?"

She nodded. "The handbook sums up a sorcerer's entire life. This one records the prey that the hunter pursued, because hunting defined most of his life. It's basically a sorcerer's diary.

"But it's not written willingly. After a sorcerer dies, their soul returns to the Virtual World as a projection, and their memories condense into a book. It's a natural law, as inevitable as birth, aging, sickness, and death. We call that book the Sorcerer's Handbook."

"If the Virtual World is the graveyard of sorcerers, then the Sorcerer's Handbook is their tombstone."

It was then that Ashe realized the hunter they had met earlier wasn't alive at all, but a projection of someone long dead. He had thought they had simply run into another sorcerer by chance. Still, it wouldn't have changed anything. Even if it had been a living person, he wouldn't have held back. Death in the Virtual World wasn't real death.

Sonya continued, "Just like medals, Sorcerer's Handbooks can be used. You can absorb one directly with your consciousness, and you'll gain a random skill from its owner that cannot be learned from any established school."

Ashe asked, "Do you want it?"

Sonya shook her head. "No. Just looking at it feels exhausting. But if you manage to read the entire handbook, absorbing it won't contaminate you."

"Contaminate?"

"Sorcerer's Handbooks can be dangerous. In general, a sorcerer can only absorb a handbook when its worldview, values, and philosophy match their own. Forcing yourself to take in one that doesn't fit can damage your soul... or even split your mind."

"Is it really that serious?"

"It is. But it's easy to avoid. As long as you don't feel discomfort while reading, you should be able to absorb it safely."

She paused and looked at him curiously. "From what I've heard, an ordinary sorcerer might encounter ten handbooks in their life and manage to absorb only two or three. Many never find even one they can fully absorb. How are you able to pick up a random handbook and absorb it without any contamination at all?"

Ashe had no answer for that. Following her instructions, he guided his consciousness toward the notebook in his hands.

The notebook dissolved into a wisp of smoke and seeped into him. A moment later, he felt an icy lump in his mind melt away, followed by a surge of indescribable knowledge flooding his senses.

He opened Operator Management in the game and saw a new entry.

[Counter-Surveillance Mastery]

Cabin Storley had learned this skill through sheer experience as a jungle hunter and soldier, without any formal training. Since Ashe was already planning an escape, Counter-Surveillance would prove to be a useful and practical skill he could rely on.

Once the notebook was absorbed, they noticed the island sinking. They hurried back onto the boat, and moments later the island vanished entirely, leaving the sea perfectly calm, as if it had never existed.

Sonya let out a light sigh. "That's what makes the Virtual World so unique. There's a saying that meetings are fleeting and exist only to pass on knowledge. Small islands drift across the Sea of Knowledge and quietly wait for sorcerers to find them. Once someone claims the inheritance, the island goes back to the sea. Some say these islands are the obsessions of past sorcerers, traces they leave behind so future generations can remember them.

"All sorcerers leave deep marks in the Virtual World. We encounter countless legacies here. Anything can happen, from dueling gunslingers from centuries ago to interacting with sages from millennia past. Eventually, we'll leave our own marks, too. Hundreds of years from now, when someone else makes it past the white mist, they might face the challenges we left behind."

"Sounds romantic," Ashe said.

"Really? Do you think your life can be passed down so cleanly, for future generations to admire?"

Ashe immediately felt less romantic. "Before a sorcerer dies, can they delete certain parts of their life record? Like... Study Notes or Art and Life?"

Sonya replied, "How to die with dignity versus how to live with compromise. Those have always been sorcerers' two greatest philosophical problems."

Ashe was the only one who benefited from this encounter, but Sonya didn't seem bothered. She relaxed, stretched her arms, and said, "Where to next? You decide. I'll follow."

The island hadn't been dangerous. If Ashe could consistently find inheritance islands like this, Sonya would gladly take the risk. For her, even one Sword Class spirit or a compatible Sorcerer's Handbook would be a massive gain.

Most sorcerers only hoped to explore the Virtual World safely. Avoiding danger was already worth celebrating, and discovering an inheritance was a bonus.

"Let's see..."

Ashe opened Virtual World Exploration and checked the nearby grid.

[Waste of Effort], [Waste of Effort], [Waste of Effort], [Waste of Effort], [Better to Avoid], [Waste of Effort], [Waste of Effort], [Waste of Effort]

"

Huh?

"