Chapter 82: Card Draw!

Staring at the nine spirits laid out before him, Ashe had no choice but to do a brief set of impromptu calisthenics to calm his surging excitement.

During last night's exploration of the Virtual World alone, they had harvested a total of twelve spirits. Three of them, rumored to sell for a high price, had been taken away by the Swordswoman. Even so, Ashe's gains from a single night nearly matched what he normally earned over several days. That was without even counting the two Experience Orbs they had also obtained.

Unless he managed to draw another Virtual World exploration artifact, Ashe knew it would be nearly impossible to replicate last night's results before his Silver Wings fully unfolded.

That night's experience also served as a vivid confirmation of a life principle he had long summarized during work hours. Working hard was worse than slacking off. Slacking off was worse than exploiting others. And exploiting others was worse than picking ripe fruit that someone else had already grown.[1]

When they noticed a "wild" sorcerer nearby on the Virtual World map, their first reaction was to put as much distance between themselves and that person as possible. This had nothing to do with conscience or goodwill toward strangers. They simply feared that even the two of them together might not be enough to deal with a single hand from the other party.

Ashe was absolutely certain of it. Together, they could not defeat that one person.

They understood their own strength all too clearly. Both Ashe and the Swordswoman had reached their current level through forced growth. They knew only a handful of Miracles, and their combat systems were practically nonexistent.

The Swordswoman was at least somewhat better off. Her talent was undeniable, and given time, she would eventually catch up. Ashe, on the other hand, was little more than an accessory clinging to her leg. Aside from basic attacks, all he could do was summon clones to die in his place. Calling him the weakest combat sorcerer of his tier would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.

Bullying sorcerer projections on Inheritance Islands and beating up Knowledge Creatures already pushed them close to their limits, and even that felt barely manageable. After more than half of their Silver Wings had formed, the intensity of combat rose sharply. Nearly every battle drained their mana to the brink, and victory came only by the narrowest margin.

Sorcerers like Ashe and Sonya were anomalies in the Sea of Knowledge. They had been sorcerers for barely seven days. By any normal standard, they were still beginners, still fumbling through the stage of learning the rules of the game.

In contrast, the sorcerer who had appeared near them had clearly condensed more than half of their Silver Wings. That meant at least a month in the Virtual World, possibly half a year, or even a full year.

At that point, time alone created an overwhelming gap. Using a gaming analogy, Ashe and his partner were like players who had cheated their way to a high level while skipping every class quest, main quest, and side quest along the way. They did not even know a single proper combo. Worse still, their inflated level meant the Door of Truth would only send them into high-level monster zones.

Thankfully, the two of them were bound as a team. If a solo sorcerer had experienced what they did, that person would have been slaughtered long ago by Knowledge Creatures in high-level zones and sent straight to an early grave.

A normal sorcerer, by contrast, would condense Silver Wings step by step. In faction mastery, combat systems, and miracle control, such a sorcerer would far surpass the two cheaters. On top of that, the other party likely had experience fighting sorcerers. The moment they clashed, their skill would allow them to see through Ashe almost immediately and single him out as the easiest target.

Ashe could have gambled on the chance that the other party wasn't a combat sorcerer, but he had no reason to take that risk. His real body still sat helplessly in prison. If either he or the Swordswoman died, no amount of whining or begging, "I'm done playing, give me back my life!" would matter. All that would remain was waiting obediently for the Blood Moon Tribunal to punish a reckless gambler.

So when he spotted the other party approaching, Ashe immediately steered the small boat away. The white mist blocked the sorcerer from detecting the boat beyond a certain distance. At that moment, the Swordswoman leaned close and whispered a daring, slightly reckless idea in his ear.

"

Wow

, you're really nasty," Ashe said, a grin tugging at his lips. "I like it."

"

Tch

. You talk as if you're any better," she replied, smirking.

The two of them then circled stealthily ahead of the unknown sorcerer. On the Virtual World map, they spotted a region marked A Bit Troublesome and tossed small stones to lure the stranger toward it.

From experience over the past few days, areas labeled A Bit Troublesome were almost always Knowledge Creature habitats. Most of the creatures there were in their Rookie phase. They were large, powerful, and adept at wielding spirits. Even if a sorcerer managed to defeat one, the creature would almost certainly escape.

Sure enough, after a fierce skirmish, Ashe watched the yellow

A Bit Troublesome

zone on the map gradually turn green, now labeled

Go Loot It

. The green area moved steadily, tracing the creature's escape route, and Ashe followed it closely in his small boat.

Predicting a Knowledge Creature's escape path was surprisingly simple. Unlike sorcerers stumbling blindly through the mist, these creatures knew the terrain around their habitats intimately. They always fled into safe zones, and never into another creature's territory, where they might provoke a territorial dispute.

Ashe simply scanned the surroundings and ruled out routes leading toward Worth a Visit or other A Bit Troublesome areas. The path that remained was the one the creature was most likely to take. Minor deviations could be accounted for in real time using the Virtual World map. Almost every time, he managed to teach young Knowledge Creatures the harsh lessons of "misfortune never comes alone" and "running away is both shameful and useless."

Using this method, Ashe led the unknown sorcerer straight into Knowledge Creature habitats, waited nearby, and swooped in to claim the spoils once the creatures fled in defeat. The rewards were generous, and the risk was minimal. A fleeing Knowledge Creature suffered a drastic drop in combat strength. With a well-timed ambush, it was easily left stunned and helpless, like being chased by a ghost, only to slip on a banana peel. Anyone in that situation would freeze on the spot.

When the unknown sorcerer's soul energy finally drained to the point that they could no longer hold on and were forced to log out, Ashe and Sonya still felt a lingering thrill. In total, they had slain five Knowledge Creatures and claimed twelve spirits along with two Experience Orbs.

Those two Experience Orbs were particularly remarkable. As the Swordwoman put it, "

We earned in one night what a normal sorcerer would need half a year to make.

"

Even more exciting, one of the nine spirits Ashe received turned out to be the third spirit required for the Slash Me Miracle. It appeared as a small, constantly rotating sphere of water, with a tiny wing made of water attached. Cradled in his hand, it trembled unsteadily, giving it an almost endearing charm.

[Flow]

One-Winged Spirit

Requirement

- The target must contain a water source within its body.

Basic Effect

- Transfers all effects applied to the first target (instant damage and ongoing effects) to a second target. Transfer speed varies depending on factors such as the distance between the two targets.

Passive Effect

- When a sorcerer has liquid in their body, it reduces the physical impact they suffer.

Signature Quote

- Water flows downward.

With the three spirits—Substitute, Swordheart, and Flow—assembled, Ashe now possessed all the prerequisites to cast the Slash Me Miracle. All that remained was to quickly master Flow and reach the level required to resonate with the Virtual World from inside the prison. Once he did, he could attempt to cast the Miracle even under conditions where his mana was sealed.

After storing Flow away, Ashe opened Aurora Sorcerer's Handbook and converted the last eight spirits into recharge points. Each spirit was worth eight points, so eight spirits brought in sixty-four points. Added to the forty points he already had, Ashe's total surged to a staggering one hundred and four points, enough to purchase a Pile of Source Crystals.

[Purchase successful.]

[Received twenty Source Crystals.]

The first-time recharge bonus then triggered, granting him another forty Source Crystals. Adding the four Source Crystals from check-in rewards over the past three days, he now had a total of forty-four crystals, enough for fourteen recruitments.

My turn. Time to draw.

1. This essentially means to Ashe, the most efficient path was never effort or risk, but stepping in at the right moment to claim rewards others had already paid the price to earn. ☜