Sorcerer’s Handbook

Drip, drip, drip…

Ashe sat on the sofa, listening to the sound of water flowing from the bathroom. He closed the Gospel Book, walked over to the fridge, and took out a can of Azure Lala Fatty wine. Azure Lala Fatty is one of the few inedible Lala Fatty products, but the wine it produces is exceptionally refreshing and tasty. Even Ashe, who usually has no taste for alcoholic drinks, enjoyed it a lot.

Drip, drip… plop, plop… whoosh…

No matter how much Ashe tried to focus his attention elsewhere, the sound of water continued to vividly paint a picture of the bathroom’s scene in his mind. Although he had not specifically trained under the Physical Sect to hone his original body, the Universal spellforce he possessed naturally strengthened sorcerers like him over time.

The sword Princess once proposed a hypothesis: a sorcerer is a type of spirit, and a Four-winged sorcerer is essentially the same as a Four-winged Spirit. However, compared to other specialized spirits, sorcerers have far more functions: moving, eating, studying, reproducing… These functions are something sorcerers can perform on their own without the need for spellforce, which is why they seldom use spellforce to enhance themselves.

Some sorcerers have wondered if it is possible to enhance themselves directly with spellforce, reaching the point where they could shatter a rock with a single punch. However, a sorcerer can only do what he can ‘imagine.’ He must vividly envision how the spellforce strengthens his fist; for example, skin as tough as copper, bones as sturdy as iron, specific techniques of force such as bright force, hidden force, and explosive force. By the time he perfectly imagines how to enhance his fist with spellforce, he is mostly capable of summoning a ‘Iron Fist’ or ‘Explosive Fist,’ kinds of Fist-Claw spirits.

Spellforce, spirits, and sorcerers seem to form a perfect loop. Yet, there are exceptions, such as elderly sorcerers-though their physical abilities are not what they once were, they have experienced their peak and belong to the realm of the ‘imaginable.’ Therefore, these older sorcerers can consume spellforce to restore their body to peak condition and even maintain it indefinitely. This phenomenon serves as crucial evidence for the ‘sorcerer-spirit hypothesis.’

Although becoming a sorcerer does not directly extend one’s lifespan, and even dying in the Virtual Realm can lead to sudden death that shortens their life more than ordinary people, the quality of life for sorcerers remains exceptionally stable. This stability is due to factors like not needing sleep and their bodies consistently being at peak condition.

All this is to say one thing: Ashe’s hearing isn’t naturally that good; he had simply heightened it to its limit using spellforce because of his desires.

Ashe immediately stood up. “What happened? Is it an assassination attempt?”

“No, no, nothing at all. Don’t you dare barge in here; I will scream, you know!”

Originally, Ashe was just worried that ‘Gospel Ashe’ might have come to attack, but Annan’s teasing and playful manner made an unnamed fire rise in his belly. He sat back down, taking a large gulp of the chilled wine, trying to find some inner peace through the icy alcohol.

For some reason, when Annan actively flirted with him, he could staunchly defend his principles with a firm stance of, “Even if you unlock all my poses, you’ll never win my heart.” Yet, now that Annan declared nothing was allowed to happen tonight and he had to sleep on the sofa, Ashe couldn’t help but let his mind wander.

He patted his cheeks and told himself: Ashe, Ashe, Annan just doesn’t want anyone to see her scared, and she needs someone to stay over for protection tonight. If you can’t control yourself, she’ll just look down on you!

Besides, she doesn’t have that intention. Not to mention she could control you directly if she wanted to, and she carries Second Miss Donna, who can shoot 9mm bullets. Could you really handle both sisters at once?

Maybe I should ask Igor to hypnotize me, make me temporarily lose all my desires… No, that won’t work. The male Bewitcher would definitely mock me for that.

Forget it. It’s not like I haven’t seen beautiful girls before. When it comes to looks, Annan is ‘merely’ on the same level as the sword Princess and the Witch. But her gaze… it’s hard to resist, as if her eyes could draw you in… Well then, I’ll just avoid looking at her face. Tonight should be easy to handle!

Just as Ashe resolved to calm himself down, the bathroom door creaked open. A pair of shapely, slender legs stepped barefoot onto the carpet. “Ashe, are you going to take a shower?”

“I…” Ashe turned his head to glance at her and instantly covered his eyes with his hand, though the gap between his fingers was wider than his fingers themselves. “Where are your clothes?!”

Annan was wrapped in nothing but a bath towel. Her long purple hair steamed softly from the evaporating heat, and droplets of water trailed from her shoulders down her arms and collarbone. The towel barely covered her hips and chest, leaving her long legs completely exposed, as alluring as a Bewitcher after a seductive spell.

The worst part was that she hadn’t completely dried herself off. Several water droplets still clung to her skin, shimmering and moving. Ashe could not stand people who were not fresh and tidy, and his stern gaze was nearly impossible to move away from her!

But now, it wasn’t just looking at her face that would cause a heart-stopping blow. Ashe felt like staring at any part of her would deal real damage!

“I usually come out and change into my nightclothes; sometimes I don’t even bother to change at all. So tonight, I forgot to bring my clothes into the bathroom. But it felt weird to ask you to get them,” Annan said as she sat at the dressing table to brush her hair. “I don’t want you rummaging through my underwear.”

“Couldn’t you have just put on your old clothes?”

“Wearing old clothes makes it feel like I didn’t bathe at all,” Annan glared at him. “You staying there means I can’t change, so hurry up and take your shower.”

Ashe quickly grabbed his change of clothes and headed into the bathroom. For safety, he locked the bathroom door behind him and hurriedly undressed for a cold shower, calming himself down quickly.

His first thought was: Is Annan using some kind of Mental Miracle to attack me?

But on second thought, it didn’t seem right. Annan’s tone was normal, her reason impeccable, her actions polite, and her attitude was neither too familiar nor too distant. The sense of distance was just right. The fact that Ashe couldn’t control himself was purely his own issue. He couldn’t exactly blame Annan for being too beautiful and sexy, could he?

Moreover, the reason Annan came out wearing only a bath towel was because she genuinely accepted him. Just as she didn’t mind showing vulnerability in front of Ashe, she also didn’t mind revealing her lifestyle habits. However, Ashe only focused on her appearance without considering her emotional world, and he felt deeply ashamed of his shallowness.

He soaked in the tub, focusing on calming his mind, deciding he would immerse himself in the Gospel Book to pass the time and wouldn’t look at Annan at all, thus avoiding any evil thoughts—

Wait, why was there a scent of violet? Ashe looked down and saw purple petals floating in the bathwater. After a moment’s hesitation, he remembered this was Annan’s bathwater.

Just a few minutes ago, the Young Lady was soaking in here… Wait, it’s not like I haven’t used someone else’s bathwater before. When Igor finished bathing, I would just hop in after him, and his bathwater’s scent was even stronger!

Nothing to make a fuss about, stop overthinking!

Ashe, endure!

Even though he told himself this, Ashe still felt his body temperature rising rapidly. He ended the most relaxing part of his day prematurely, dried himself off, and changed into his pajamas before going out.

“Finished already?”

Annan was sitting on the bed, leaning against the wall. Her purple hair was loosely tied up and draped over her right shoulder. She had her legs covered with a plush blanket and was wearing an obviously oversized white shirt, clearly not her size, while wearing glasses and reading the Gospel Book.

“If you want to sit on the bed, you can, but you’ll need to return to the sofa when logging into the Virtual Realm.”

Ashe stared dumbfounded at her shirt. “That shirt…?”

“It’s yours.” Annan raised her hands, shaking the sleeves, her palms completely hidden inside them. “I left all my nightclothes in the previous room, and it’s not convenient to rest in formal clothes. I saw a shirt in your suitcase, so I borrowed it. Hope you don’t mind?”

“No, I don’t mind. But those glasses…”

“Blue light blocking glasses. The Gospel Book is great, but its light simulates sunlight, which can affect the retina. Although macular degeneration can be treated, I prefer to prevent it by wearing glasses. Plus, they help reduce fatigue.”

Ashe nodded in sudden understanding and then sat at the dressing table to blow dry his hair. Annan glanced at him but said nothing, immersed in the TV drama being played by the Gospel Book.

The Cult Leader calmly blow-dried his hair, but inside, waves of turmoil surged, crashing endlessly against his mind!

He didn’t even dare to glance at Annan from the corner of his eye, fearing that in the next second he would transform into an Extreme Cutting Carp Overlord Lord-level monster of lust.

Why, why did Annan, who didn’t appear charming in the least, excite him to the point where his mind was filled with unspeakable thoughts?

How could she wear my white shirt, and even glasses? This should be illegal! This kind of behavior is practically a crime! It’s borderline attempted murder!

After drying his hair, Ashe let out a long sigh of relief and carefully crawled onto the bed. Annan seemed so engrossed in the TV drama that she didn’t notice him, so he slowly scooted over until he was beside her and asked, pretending to be casual, “What are you watching?”

“‘From the Old World’,” Annan said, moving the Gospel Book closer to him so he could see the TV drama too. “It’s a comedic fantasy story about a future world where Gospel is freely and infinitely supplied. In this world, several ‘Old People’ from other Kingdoms enter the Gospel Kingdom. Their resistance to embracing Gospel and adherence to outdated lifestyle habits lead to a series of hilarious incidents.”

“‘Gospel freely and infinitely supplied’… In my previous life, that would be a sci-fi concept of unlimited energy. So, this is a sci-fi story set in the Gospel universe?”

Ashe had no interest in sci-fi stories, but when he glanced at the Holographic Screen of the Gospel Book, he found himself momentarily captivated.

“Who is that girl fighting?”

“She’s the second female lead,” Annan explained. “One of the ‘Old People’ from a very poor village. She’s impulsive and reckless. After arriving in the Gospel Kingdom, she feels both inferior and arrogant. A lot of the conflicts arise because of the trouble she causes… Why, do you like this actress?”

“No, she just reminded me of someone.”

“Someone similar to this character?”

“Not at all. Their personalities aren’t alike, their appearances aren’t alike, there’s no resemblance at all.”

“Then why did you think of them?”

“I don’t know,” Ashe scratched his head. “My mind just made the connection somehow.”

Annan glanced at him, and then the two of them watched the TV drama in silence. As the beautiful ending showed the ‘Old People’ integrating into the Gospel Kingdom, Ashe suddenly asked, “How much time do we have left before we need to act?”

“We’re just two ranking lists away from completing the Weaving Festival. At the current pace, the earliest we’ll need to act is the day after tomorrow, and the latest would be within five days.”

“Five days…” Ashe murmured, “That means we don’t have much time left.”

“Indeed,” Annan said softly. “If there’s anything you want to do, make sure to finish it in the remaining time.”

“Okay,” Ashe nodded. “It’s about time for me to enter the virtual realm. Good night.”

“Good night,” Annan replied. “I’ll stay up a bit longer to browse some information.”

Ashe sat cross-legged on the sofa, opened Aurora’s Sorcerer Handbook, clicked on “virtual realm exploration,” and chose to enter the virtual realm with the Sword Princess Witch.

After Ashe closed his eyes and his consciousness left his body to arrive at the Time Continent, Annan closed the Gospel Book. She quietly lifted the plush blanket and got out of bed, walking over to Ashe. If Ashe could open his eyes now, he would see Annan wearing nothing but a white shirt—just a white shirt.

The Purple Moth bent down, staring at Ashe with a puzzled expression. “Strange, according to the video Yvaren sent me, this should be exactly his preference. Plus, he was nearly at his limit just now. Why the sudden change…”

She pondered for a moment but couldn’t come to a conclusion. This result, however, seemed to satisfy the Purple Moth even more. Losing control would indicate her charm, but holding on would demonstrate Ashe’s willpower.

Annan gently kissed him and smiled, “Good night, my knight.”