The Sorcerer's Handbook

This wasn't the first time Ashe and his companions had crossed paths with other sorcerers in the Virtual World.

While the odds of a chance encounter on the Continent of Time were generally slim, Ashe's group moved at an incredible pace in their car. Furthermore, with his Virtual World Map displaying a massive twenty-four-grid radius, they frequently caught sight of the telltale yellow markers indicating other sorcerers.

Without exception, however, they always chose to steer clear of strangers. They had no interest in staging a tragic scene of dynamic betrayal, nor did they care to reenact the classic friendly greeting followed by a bullet to the back.

There were two reasons for that. Firstly, other sorcerers simply weren't worth interacting with. At this level, everyone was merely a Two-Winged sorcerer. Even if both parties felt safe sharing secrets under the assumption that they would never meet again, what could they actually trade? Schemes and poisons to use against each other?

Secondly, other sorcerers weren't worth killing. Unless you belonged to a specialized organization like the Blissful Peace Agency, which made a literal business out of hunting sorcerers from reality into the Virtual World, there was rarely a conflict of interest. The Virtual World was vast. There was no scenario where one sorcerer had to starve just for another to survive. Over thousands, even tens of thousands of years, sorcerers had continuously developed the Virtual World, making its resources more abundant rather than exhausting them.

More importantly, murder offered no tangible rewards. In the Virtual World, a living sorcerer possessed only three things of value, namely their soul, their spirits, and their knowledge.

Because encounters were entirely random, you could never predict whether a stranger held any information you actually needed. Knowledge alone could not justify murder. As for spirits, they could technically be plundered if a sorcerer's soul were annihilated in the Virtual World. However, there was a major catch. Any sorcerer could destroy all of their own spirits with a single thought.

Even in the real world, instances of sorcerers stealing spirits were incredibly rare, unless those spirits were already stored in containers like Glowing Orbs. Even the notorious Shattered Lake Prison couldn't strip inmates of their spirits. The most they could do was seal their mana. On top of that, you never knew if a random target even carried the specific spirits you wanted.

If anyone did hunt sorcerers in the Virtual World, it was almost always to seize their souls. This was common enough, as many rituals required souls as offerings, and there were even miraculous cases where consuming a soul granted direct cultivation experience.

Ashe and his companions lacked any sort of cheat-like, reality-breaking abilities. Naturally, they wouldn't murder others for raw profit. At most, they might casually run down a passing stranger in their car just for fun, offering the stranger a taste of the sheer cruelty of fate while anonymously spreading a bit of misery.

Tonight, however, they seemed poised to make an exception.

The sports car took a roundabout route toward the Worth a Visit area, pulling up before a grand, circular arena. Sonya recognized it instantly, and a sudden surge of excitement lit up her face. "This is the Last Stand Arena! My professor once came across this special structure. It's the single most beloved building among combat-type sorcerers!"

Thanks to the village girl's explanation, Ashe and the others quickly understood why this place was so highly revered among Two-Winged sorcerers, rivaling even the Whirlpool.

The Last Stand Arena operated under three unique rules. Firstly, a sorcerer's mana was fully restored after every single battle. Secondly, challengers would only ever face an equal number of enemies to their party size. Last but not least, the only way to leave the arena voluntarily was by winning a set number of consecutive matches.

The rewards were massive. Winning three matches would earn the sorcerer experience for their highest-rank sorcery class, equivalent to roughly one Experience Orb. Five consecutive victories yielded the value of two Orbs, while a clean sweep of ten matches granted a staggering five Experience Orbs.

Even if a sorcerer found themselves outmatched, they could always surrender. The penalty was steep. The arena would instantly drain them of their energy, and they would be forcefully expelled from the Virtual World for the night. However, the process was entirely safe.

While Two-Winged combat sorcerers generally handled Knowledge Creatures with ease, very few engaged in continuous, daily monster hunting, mass devastation, and legion annihilation like Ashe's group. Most ordinary sorcerers were lucky to harvest a single spirit a day. Even on the Continent of Time, Experience Orbs remained a rare commodity.

For the vast majority, the only way to advance their sorcery rank was through relentless study during their youth. Peak learning ability was a luxury of the young. If a sorcerer failed to reach the Sacred Realm before the age of fifty, their chances of ever doing so plummeted. Therefore, an arena that safely and reliably provided an immense sorcery class experience was a goldmine. In Sonya's personal copy of The Top Ten Sightseeing Spots on the Continent of Time, the arena ranked a proud second.

Yet, compared to the arena's mechanics, Ashe and the others were far more fixated on a bizarre detail on the map.

"Then why are there two sorcerers currently fighting a Hero Commander and a Thousand-Feathered Bird Dragon?"

Sonya shook her head. "I don't think it's a free-for-all. They are likely working together against the Hero Commander and its minions. Most of the time, the Last Stand Arena sits empty. When a sorcerer enters, the arena is forced to generate opponents by pulling temporary combatants from the outside world."

She paused, adjusting her thoughts. "Strictly speaking, sorcerers aren't native creatures of the Virtual World, so the arena can't automatically clone them. If a sorcerer enters voluntarily, the arena usually conjures a projection of another sorcerer to fight them first, followed by Knowledge Creatures. But if multiple real sorcerers enter together, the arena prioritizes a duel between them as the optimal event."

Ashe's eyes narrowed slightly. "If a sorcerer manages to kill both the Knowledge Creatures and the sorcerer projection inside the arena..."

Sonya confirmed. "They still drop loot. That's exactly why the arena is so highly coveted. Sorcerers don't have to waste time hunting down enemies. The arena delivers them right to your doorstep."

Dia caught on immediately. She looked up, her gaze piercing through the golden rain toward the looming structure. "So, the two sorcerers inside are deliberately abusing the arena's summoning mechanics to trap and assassinate that Hero Commander!"

The arena prioritized summoning sorcerer projections, and a Hero Commander was essentially just a magically enhanced, weaponized version of one. As long as they could somehow lure the Legion of Heroes near the structure, any sorcerer who stepped inside would almost certainly trigger the arena to drag the Hero Commander into the ring.

"Wait," Ashe said, noticing a flaw. "Is forming teams allowed in the arena? Why weren't those two sorcerers forced to duel each other first?"

Sonya pondered for a moment. "They probably know each other. They must have used some method to make the arena treat them as a single faction. That way, the arena summoned the Hero Commander and its followers for them instead."

"Why would they team up—"

Before Dia could finish her question, White Queen chimed in to spoil the answer. "Aside from the edge they gain in combat, the main advantage is that these unknown sorcerers no longer have to worry about anyone else interrupting the battle!"

As established before, once a sorcerer entered the Last Stand Arena, the system always prioritized forcing a duel between players. But now that these two had formed a party, only another team of two sorcerers could be forced to fight them.

And how many sorcerer duos actually existed in the Virtual World? Very few.

"What a brilliant strategy," Ashe murmured. "Using the arena's own mechanics to draw out the Hero Commander completely neutralizes the Legion of Heroes' numerical advantage. And even if they fail, there's no real loss... I see now. This is how sorcerers are meant to kill a Hero Commander. The Legion of Heroes far outmatches sorcerers in pure strength, but in the face of the Virtual World, even they have no choice but to submit."

Dia added, "But it's such a massive coincidence. Two sorcerers just happened to meet in the Virtual World, happened to run into a Legion of Heroes, and there just happened to be an arena nearby..."

"That's exactly why it requires so many coincidences," Sonya said, her face alight with genuine admiration. "That's why a sorcerer killing a Hero Commander is considered an impossible miracle. I wasn't sure before, but now I'm certain. In the past, sorcerers must have used Virtual World structures to take down commanders. A sorcerer's greatest weapon isn't their spirits, their mana, or their Miracles. It all comes down to their ingenuity, the art of leveraging the fundamental truth behind all things!"

Ashe and his fellow operators had defeated their fair share of Legions of Heroes before, at least without help from the Virtual World, but this didn't make them look down on other sorcerers. On the contrary, watching fellow sorcerers about to trap and execute a commander filled them with respect.

Even without meeting them, Ashe couldn't help but admire the anonymous duo. Strength, luck, strategy, decisiveness... they possessed every quality of a true powerhouse. If they succeeded here, it was only a matter of time before they became Legendary sorcerers.

Unfortunately for them, they had run into the trio.

"Swordswoman, can we steal the commander for ourselves?"

Sonya glanced at Ashe, a small smile curling her lips as she playfully patted his shoulder. "Of course we can!"

The Witch sisters thought to themselves. What a pair of conniving troublemakers...

Normally, Ashe's group wouldn't go out of their way to hunt down other sorcerers. But an exceptional prize called for exceptional measures. A commander's spoils were at stake! Leaving aside the Commander's Handbook and the dropped spirits, Ashe absolutely needed the map in the commander's possession.

When a commander died, they dropped a map of their territory. For most sorcerers, it was practically useless. For Ashe, however, his Virtual World Map could directly integrate with other maps and provide live navigation. By hunting down commanders from every faction and piecing together the map of the Continent of Time, he would turn the entire continent into his personal playground. He could freely gather Resource Points and safely explore Virtual World structures at his leisure.

A nightly stroll through a Miracle Paradise to harvest free spirits, a quick warm-up at the arena, and a visit to the Legendary Library to refine the mind... a life like that would make anyone reluctant to ever leave for the third layer of the Virtual World.

Furthermore, Ashe hadn't forgotten the Empress Hero's looming pursuit countdown. If the Spider Tower map happened to drop from this commander, their odds of survival would easily double. By running straight down a flat, charted road instead of stumbling into complex forests or treacherous swamps, they could effortlessly shake off the Legion of Heroes.

For the sake of their future resources and their current crisis, Ashe silently offered a heartfelt apology to the two strangers. You've done a fantastic job. Rest easy. I'll handle the cleanup for you!

Sonya didn't overthink the morality of it. She simply loved reaping what others sowed and playing the accomplice to the Watcher's mischief. The double rush left her absolutely thrilled.

She explained, "It's simple. Since there are three of us, two of us go in first and form a team. The arena will recognize that and set up a two-versus-two match, turning it into a four-sorcerer fight.

"That should push the commander out of the arena's queue. As soon as that happens, the third person among us can enter right away, forcing the arena to prioritize pulling the commander back in for a strict one-on-one fight!

Sonya clasped her hands together, praying with mock earnestness. "Just like them, we can exploit the arena's mechanics to effortlessly seize their hard-earned rewards. Hopefully, they've already exhausted the commander's soul energy for us."