Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Ashe Heath can consistently make it to the list… Is this the hidden legacy of the Dolan Family?”

In the Happy Family Firm, Azura and the ‘Red Cicada Dame’ Ina Aldo were also watching the live updates of the Gospel Book.

She did not participate in the capture operation led by Annan and others.

She was too old.

Although a Sanctuary sorcerer, the Dame was also an elderly woman. The growth in a sorcerer’s power does not directly extend one’s lifespan. Sanctuary sorcerers and ordinary people do not differ in terms of longevity. In peaceful times like these, sorcerers might die prematurely due to excessive soul depletion, while normal people could live out their lives peacefully.

Even though the Dame’s spellforce remained at its peak, her gradually aging body affected not only her energy but also her will. Compared to decades ago, the Dame no longer possessed the vigor and ambition she had when she first became a sorcerer, nor did she have any curiosity or longing for the Virtual Realm. Each night she entered the Virtual Realm felt like visiting a grave.

She was tired of it.

Even if the Virtual Realm were a handsome man, she would have grown sick of it after so many years.

Just as middle-aged men might turn to fishing, collecting chargers, virtual games, or studying philosophy after experiencing impotence, the Dame devoted all her efforts to the firm after growing weary of the Virtual Realm.

Networking, social interactions, and building relationships… The more a sorcerer drinks, the less blood they see.

Stability, career, power—you always have to sacrifice something for life.

In recent years, the Dame rarely took on missions herself. After all, she ran the firm so her subordinates could do the work. If she had to do the work herself, what was the point of opening the firm?

Furthermore, this time there were two Sanctuary Red Hats participating in the capture operation. If an unexpected situation arose that even two Sanctuary sorcerers couldn’t handle, then three wouldn’t be able to resolve it either.

However, unlike the Red Hats, the Happy Family Firm’s primary target was Annan, while others were secondary. After all, teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish. If they could obtain Annan’s method of foreseeing the future, it would be more valuable than the Weaving Festival itself.

Yes, the Dame was certain that Annan possessed a method for predicting the future!

Upon learning that Annan and others had fled to Vamora, the Dame had a hunch that the second ranking list might be related to the Dolan Family.

Just like how dipping a crab in a famous lake can significantly increase its value, Annan placing her ‘tool people’ in the influential Vamora family could very well make the Weaving Festival overestimate the value of her ‘tool people,’ leading to impulsive consumption!

As a fellow firm operator, the Dame understood the working mentality of her kind all too well. Although the Gospel Book was constantly evolving and improving, it still followed rigid operational mechanisms, leaving many loopholes to exploit.

In fact, the loophole in the Weaving Festival was not a big secret. If the Gospel Book was like a beautiful girl who had all the local intelligence, Annan’s approach was to bring in outsiders like Ashe and have them act as wealthy and elegant young noblemen, thereby causing the Gospel Book to make a misjudgment and be deceived by these scoundrels.

But there was a tricky part—how did Annan know the content of the upcoming ranking list so that her ‘tool people’ could strategically deceive the Gospel Book?

The term almost jumped out of her mind: foreseeing the future.

But it was impossible for Annan to have mastered the Prophecy Sect. The Weaving Festival was a Divine Intervention from the Omniscient Weaver. Even a two-wings sorcerer like her, or even a legendary prophecy sorcerer, couldn’t possibly glimpse the subtle nuances of the Gospel Book.

Thus, only one possibility remained.

“Now everyone knows that the Dolan Family has a way to exploit the Gospel Book’s loopholes and foresee the future through it…” the Dame sighed. “Now our competition is going to increase.”

When the first ranking list came out, most firms were skeptical of Annan’s abilities.

Due to distance, only the Happy Family Firm and the Happy Peace Firm made a move in the end.

But now it was different—just a little investigation into Annan’s movements would easily lead to the conclusion that she had the ability to foresee the ranking list in advance. This would undoubtedly attract interest from other firms, companies, and even the Royal Family.

The Happy Family Firm might not only fail to capture Annan, but even if they did, they probably couldn’t hold on to this prize.

It was time to leave.

The Dame decided to withdraw and called her subordinates to retreat. Just then, the Gospel Book updated another ranking.

“9th in the Family Ranking: Mech Clan – Aldo”

Dame Ina Aldo was taken aback—Aldo?

“Mech Clan: A new necromancy troop type formed by merging members of the Happy Family Firm with liquid metal. They are neither purely mechanical nor entirely undead, generally possessing the basic traits of ‘Cloud Computing Miracle’, ‘Electro-Healing’, and ‘Automated Operations’.”

“Cloud Computing Miracle: The core of a mech is the soul chip, which can produce the purest computational power. A sorcerer with the highest authority over the mechs can have them pre-load miracles, which can be used immediately when needed.”

“Electro-Healing: Mechs can heal their spiritual injuries by absorbing a certain amount of electricity.”

“Automated Operations: Mechs are the best workers, capable of continuous repetitive labor around the clock.”

“Patriarch: Ina Aldo”

The screen showed a group of identical silver-white robots working in an orderly manner. Their hands were mechanical arms, and their lower bodies were tracks for quick movement, with a mechanical barrier being constructed in the background.

The Dame was dumbfounded.

What does “a new necromancy troop type formed by merging members of the Happy Family Firm with liquid metal” mean? How can people be merged with liquid metal? Do they bathe people in molten iron?

Moreover, while mist spirits have some combat power, mechs are essentially just production workers, right?

However, the Dame couldn’t help but be intrigued by the mech skills.

The first skill is the Preloaded Miracle. Many miracles require the coordination of multiple spirits, so the spellcasting time can vary greatly. Some can be cast instantly, while others might take several minutes to prepare!

If mechs could pre-load miracles, the sorcerer’s combat and production capabilities would see a qualitative leap. In battle, all miracles could be cast instantly, and high-difficulty Composite Miracles could even be attempted. In production, preparation time could be reduced, and the cost of practice could be eliminated. After all, mastering production miracles usually wastes dozens or even hundreds of materials!

The second skill, electro-healing, means that Mech-spirits have no feeding costs. In the Kingdom, electricity is the cheapest source of energy. Mech-spirits that live on electricity are easier to maintain than robots—robots still have wear and tear costs!

The third skill, Automated Operations, indicates that even if all the computing power of the soul chip is used to pre-load miracles for the sorcerer, the Mech-spirits can still perform labor, maximizing productivity!

Who wouldn’t be tempted by such pure workhorse units?

It would be incredible to have such versatile Mech-spirits at your disposal!

However, if you were one of these workhorses, you might not find it so delightful.

“Ina Aldo has received the reward ‘Liquid Metal Chip.’”

“Liquid Metal Chip: Allows the sorcerer to freely switch between Mech-spirit and human states, and retain spellcasting abilities in the Mech-spirit state.”

Ina felt a slight chill at the back of her neck, as if something had been inserted. She closed her eyes for a moment, and mercury-like liquid metal began to cover her body from the back of her neck.

Seconds later, a young Ina Aldo appeared in the mirror.

Like the Mist Spirit Ring, the Liquid Metal Chip also had its unique projection—

“Your idea is quite impressive, merging steel with necromancy, combining cold machinery with the dead, and utilizing the trending Mechanic Sect… Can you tell me where this idea came from?”

“Hmm? Because you mentioned coming to Azura to create a necromancy legion, it reminded me of the Happy Family Firm, which led me to remember how they used intelligent machines to hunt us down. Since they love playing with machines so much, let’s turn them into machines—just a petty act of revenge.”

“That’s quite a mundane source of inspiration.”

“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment. Now then… Red Cicada Dame, or should I say Mech-spirit 001, I appoint you as the head of the Aldo Production Corps. Remember to work tirelessly every second to ensure I live a good life.”

“Yes,” Ina, now in her silver-white robotic form, responded, “Your command is the destiny of the Mech-spirits.”

Ina watched this scene in silence.

At that moment, the call she had made earlier was connected, and the voice of her subordinate came through: “Dame, what are your orders?”

“Have Annan and Ashe been captured?”

“No, there’s no sign of any vehicle traffic leaving Vamora on the Gospel Book. They must have left by other means… Should we retreat?”

“No,” the Dame said as she stood up. “Stay where you are. I’m coming to join you.”

“What?” her subordinate exclaimed. “Dame, are you going to lead the mission yourself?”

“Yes.” The Dame snapped her fingers, and a hovercar flew to her balcony parking lot. “Since we’ve made enemies, we shouldn’t expect to walk away unscathed. After drinking for so many years, it’s time to make others bleed.”