Sorcerer’s Handbook

“What do you take me for? A call girl at your beck and call?”

The Swordswoman crossed her arms, pushing forward her chest, and lifted her chin in defiance. “Do I need to report my whereabouts to you now? What’s next, should I write you an application every time I use the restroom?”

“I don’t mind, really, but do you even need to use the restroom? Do you prefer squatting or sitting?”

“I’m not talking about restrooms with you!”

Suddenly, the Swordswoman stood up and closed in on Ashe, whose retreat was halted by the wall as her piercing gaze bore down on him. She stared intensely at him, pressing a finger against his collarbone.

“Even though you promised to respect me, it seems you don’t truly think that way. You still regard me as an illusion made of data streams, a Paper Person created for you, existing to serve you… despite our long conversations, despite our adventures together in the Virtual Realm, you still haven’t changed your condescending view of me.”

Ashe had no rebuttal, nor could he offer one.

The Swordswoman wasn’t asking; she was stating a fact.

Under the premise that she could hear his Inner Voice, all lies were pointless.

“What you think in your heart, I cannot change. But remember this—I am a person too.”

She said each word deliberately: “I have my own life, my hobbies, my aspirations, and I have my own world… You are not my everything, just an unexpected part of my life. Even without you, I can still live well in places unknown to you. Do you understand?”

“If I help you, you should be grateful. If I don’t, you can’t blame me. Do you understand?”

“I understand, thank you, Swordswoman Mom, for all your help!”

“Don’t call me that!” The Swordswoman jabbed a finger at Ashe’s forehead, “Who wants to be called ‘mom’ at such a young age!”

“Who says? I don’t mind if you call me ‘dad’…”

As Ashe felt another finger poke coming, he quickly changed the subject. “So, Swordswoman, can you tell me something interesting that happened today?”

The Swordswoman sat back on the bed, gazing at the glass of water on the table beside her, falling into a long silence.

Just when Ashe thought she didn’t want to share her whereabouts with a “stinky man,” she spoke again.

“This morning, I showed off my Rapids spirit at the entrance of the Meditation Tower, and by the afternoon, the whole school knew I got a Rapids spirit from the Virtual Realm. Even my roommate, who thinks she’s so superior, had the nerve to ask if I was selling it…”

“So, you had a pretty good day then?”

“Boring!” The Swordswoman gave him a disdainful look. “What’s there to be happy about with such superficial vanity? What do I care about the praise and jealousy of strangers? Only teenage girls would revel in that.”

But I remember you’re just a teenage girl… Ashe thought, only to receive a fierce glare from the Swordswoman.

Wow, can’t even mention youth, Swordswoman is really strict.

“The air in a single man’s dormitory is so foul and rank, I’m leaving.”

“Apologize to that air purifier hanging from the ceiling! Immediately! Right now!” Ashe was almost roaring: “And I haven’t done anything these past two days; I’ve been with you, exploring the Virtual Realm every night, so where would any foul smell come from?”

“It might be because you’re breathing, or maybe your heartbeat is too strong.”

Ashe decided not to stoop to her level: “So, are we continuing our Exploration in the Virtual Realm tonight?”

“Of course,” the Swordswoman paused, “unless there’s a special situation, I usually wouldn’t show up. If you have something you want to discuss, save it for the Virtual Realm. The nights in the Virtual Realm are our common leisure time.”

Naturally, Ashe had no objections, or rather, when the Swordswoman had just reiterated her personal freedom, he had vaguely anticipated that she would no longer offer a 24-hour personal service.

“What if something urgent happens and I need to find you, will you show up?”

“Didn’t I say it already? You are not everything in my life.”

Ashe nodded, indicating that he understood, and turned his head to look elsewhere.

“But you are an unexpected part of my life,” the Swordswoman glanced at him, “if something truly unexpected happens to you, I will appear as soon as possible—and then arrive to mock you at the scene.”

“So don’t expect me to show up when you’re panicking in loneliness to chat with you; I don’t offer that kind of service.”

“I’m a mature member of society; I don’t get lonely.”

Ashe patted his chest in retort, but the joy in his pupils was almost impossible to hide.

How amusing…

At this moment, the apocalypse observer is actually afraid of loneliness, afraid of the unfamiliar Prison, even treating me as a lifeline; panicking if he doesn’t see me for a day, like a child…

It turns out; he isn’t naturally that…

But fortunately, his mind isn’t quite there right now, or I thought it would be difficult to deceive him…

Many thoughts flashed through the Swordswoman’s mind, and then she disappeared from the dormitory, back to where she belonged.

The Stars Kingdom, Training Hall.

“Sonya, can you still walk?”

Engulite looked at Sonya, who was almost melting onto the ground, and couldn’t lift her up with all her strength—she herself was exhausted from increasing the intensity of Training.

“No, my legs have no strength left; let’s rest, rest a bit…”

The two girls sat directly on the grass by the roadside, leaning on the Sword bag and gasping for air.

“Achoo!”

“What’s wrong?”

“My underwear is soaked.” Sonya fiddled with her collar to cool down: “It gets a bit chilly with the breeze…”

“Hehe, I recommend you buy a Phiesta brand sports bra; it’s quick-drying and breathable.”

“Really? Let me check it out.”

After discussing underwear shopping for a while, Engulite let out a puff of warm breath, twisted open her water bottle, and found it empty, then turned to Sonya: “Where’s your water bottle, Sonya?”

“What water bottle?”

“You come to Training without a water bottle?”

“I… I just came with my Sword bag; I forgot to bring water.”

Prompted by Engulite, Sonya couldn’t help but swallow hard, feeling her lips were parched, “Do you have any water left?”

“None left! … Maybe just a drop or two?”

Engulite tilted her head back, and after a few seconds, a single droplet of liquid fell from her water bottle. She licked her lips and remarked, “Why is this water so sweet?”

“Let me have some!”

Sonya imitated Engulite and managed to get a drop into her mouth, letting out a prolonged sigh, “This isn’t water, this is a rare brew that even a royal feast couldn’t match!”

“Have you ever had a drink from a royal feast?”

“No, but doesn’t it sound impressive if I say it like that?”

“I have!” Engulite giggled, “My father has a bottle in the cellar he never opens. He told me it was a fine wine given to him by the Empress herself when he attended a royal banquet… As a kid, I was so curious that I sneaked into the cellar and took a sip. To avoid getting caught by my father, I even added water to the bottle. But I still got found out, and that was the worst beating I ever got from him.”

“How were you discovered?”

“My footprints were too small. As soon as my father entered the cellar, he saw my footprints leading straight to the wine.”

“What did it taste like?”

“I can’t remember, but it must have been awful. Because if it tasted good, I wouldn’t have watered it down; the whole bottle would have turned into water.”

“Ha ha ha, you were such a mischievous kid.”

“Of course, I used to beat all the boys in town.” Engulite proudly lifted her chin, patting her Sword bag, “And I still could.”

Above them was a dazzling starry sky, beneath them was lush green grass, and in front of them were students passing by the Training grounds. Yet, the two girls sat there hugging their knees, chatting and laughing carelessly, letting the sweat from their Training session drip down their faces onto the earth.

A rumbling engine sound approached, and a silver luxury sedan slowly made its way through the campus road, stopping in front of the two.

“Need a lift?” Felix leaned out, calmly offering, “It’s no trouble for me.”

Engulite shook her head, “No need, walking back helps ease the fatigue in our legs, and we’re all sweaty, wouldn’t want to dirty your car.”

“Sylvia didn’t come to pick you up tonight?” Sonya asked in return.

“We broke up.”

“Oh~” Both girls weren’t sure how to react, so they just uttered an “oh.”

Felix didn’t say anything further and drove off.

Watching the silver sedan disappear into the distance, Engulite patted her behind and stood up, “Rest enough? We should head back. Lately, the water pressure in the showers is low after 10 pm, and we won’t have water to bathe if we go back late.”

“You go back, I’m heading to the Meditation Tower.”

Engulite wasn’t too surprised, “Trying to avoid Lois? Haven’t figured out what to do with the Rapids spirit yet?”

“Yeah.” Sonya also sighed, “It’s not that I haven’t figured it out… I just would rather trade it for a Swordsmanship spirit.”

When the news about Sonya having a Rapids spirit got out, her roommate Lois immediately approached her to inquire if it could be purchased. Lois had no intention of taking advantage, even offering a price 120% of the market value—an amount Sonya could never fetch on the school’s trading platform. Selling to her would certainly not result in a loss.

If this had been the Sonya of the past, she would have eagerly sold it and then spent the night giggling under her covers, counting her money and musing over how to invest this ‘windfall’ to generate more.

However, under the tutelage of Professor Trozan, Sonya’s perspective had broadened. She came to understand deeply that a spirit is the fundamental source of a Sorcerer’s strength, while money is just a secondary resource, a nice addition but not essential.

Therefore, she was more interested in a ‘Spirit Exchange’, trading her Rapids spirit for a Swordsmanship spirit she desired, to increase her strength and better explore the Virtual Realm.

However, ‘Spirit Exchanges’ are not always available, and while common spirits are one thing, a rare one like the Rapids requires an equally rare Swordsmanship spirit in exchange. Even though Professor Trozan had agreed to keep an eye out for her, finding a buyer was not going to be immediate.

On one hand, there was Lois, ready with a significant sum of money, and on the other, a seller that had yet to appear. Sonya felt somewhat undecided and planned to hide away for a couple of days to think over her options.

“You know, there’s a third option—you could use it yourself.”

Sonya turned her head and found the Observer sitting next to her.

Suppressing a flicker of joy in her heart, she casually asked, “When did you get back?”

“Just when you guys were discussing underwear.”

“…”

“Don’t buy Phiesta brand underwear; they cater specifically to women with small to medium builds. With your figure, I recommend Dariuslin—it shapes very well.”

“Enough, I’m not going to discuss that with you.”