Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Why is Senhaeser fighting with Belldate?”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“I heard Belldate was called a midget.”

“That’s just too much, right? It’s not like Belldate is extremely short. Is it necessary to attack her weaknesses like that? Plus, Senhaeser is so much taller than her; fighting her is like using a fire hose from the second floor.”

“Even if Belldate had a reason to start the fight, there was no need for Senhaeser to get entangled with her.”

“Because both of Senhaeser’s sisters were insulted by Belldate.”

“What did she say?”

“Probably something along the lines of calling them overzealous, attacking from all sides, seeking reinforcements, scheming inside and out, being slick-tongued…”

Tap!

Yvaren landed lightly on the dessert table, and with a quick stomp of her little boots, the entire table shattered into powder. She then leaped, tracing a blue arc through the air, approaching Nona. In the blink of an eye, her right hand was about to grab the Elf’s nape!

Nona’s body suddenly gleamed with a layer of oil. As soon as Yvaren’s hand touched her nape, it slid off. Instead, Nona used Yvaren’s force to spin in place, her long right leg tracing a crescent arc, like a razor cloud, kicking towards the blue-haired girl!

Water Spell Miracle: Flame Burst!

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, thick black smoke billowed out, and all the nearby tables were overturned and shattered!

Yvaren escaped from the black smoke, landing on another table with a graceful posture, her limbs touching the surface lightly. Her eyes had turned into vertical pupils, her expression resembling that of a frantic jackal. Her clear blue hair was now tainted with black grime, and her luxurious, elegant gown had spots tainted with blood.

Nona waved to disperse the black smoke. By now, the Elf was entirely drenched in transparent oil, her entire body sticky and wet, with droplets of oil sliding off her hair tips, fingertips, and hem, forming thin, long threads, soaking the carpet completely.

With a low growl from Yvaren, Belldate’s elder sister and Senhaeser’s younger sister started fighting again. Explosions and clashes echoed relentlessly. In moments, the banquet hall looked like a junkyard, lively as if fireworks had just gone off.

Such situations were not surprising at all. Although Yvaren primarily studied within the Fist-Claw Sect, her combat style was more akin to a cat than a bear. It was completely normal for her battles to turn the surroundings into a complete mess.

The Fist-Claw Sect is considered the easiest spellcasting sect to get into – quite literally, “if you have hands, you’re in.” This means that the Fist-Claw Sect’s spirits are the most varied, and its styles the most diverse. The differences in fighting styles within the Fist-Claw Sect are so vast that they rival the differences between entirely different spellcasting sects. Other sorcerers rarely delve into the nuances of fist-claw sorcerers and broadly categorize them into “Bear,” “Cat,” “Wolf,” and “Eagle” types.

Yvaren was a classic “Cat” type, rejecting all forms of frontal combat, excelling in agility and ambushes, constantly seeking out her enemy’s weaknesses and flaws. It was only natural that her fights would inevitably involve tearing up everything around her.

However, Nona was the bane of close-combat sects-she specialized in a derived branch of the Water Sect known as “Oil!”

This was a niche but powerful branch within the Water Sect because oil has two major properties: lubrication and flammability. By mastering these properties to their fullest, Nona could slide away from most close-combat attacks thanks to the oil film on her skin. In close encounters, almost no one could actually touch her skin!

Some might think, “If she’s covered in oil, why not just set her on fire?” But the truth is, her enemies didn’t even have to do that-Nona herself would ignite the glycerin on her body, sometimes using it as a lethal finishing move! As for why she wasn’t affected herself, well, that’s where the Miracle came in.

Although she was a water sorcerer, Nona excelled in explosions, burning, and close combat, making her a true anomaly among water sorcerers! Consequently, her battles were filled with constant explosions, a perfect match against Yvaren, who excelled in evasion and ambushes-practically making them a demolition duo!

Most guests retreated to the back, watching the chaos unfold with a sense of schadenfreude. However, some felt compelled to step in and stop the fight. But at that moment, someone nearby would immediately persuade them, “Why bother getting involved? Didn’t you see their own people standing back and just watching?”

The onlookers squinted and realized that Belldate’s sister, Anfel, and Senhaeser’s patriarch, Qenna, were standing not far away, giving silent approval to this ill-timed and misplaced conflict. As for why neither of them stepped in, it was easy to understand – Qenna was a Sanctuary Sorcerer, which meant her involvement would be seen as bullying. Anfel, on the other hand, wasn’t even a sorcerer, making her involvement equally one-sided.

Only Nona and Yvaren, both two-wings sorcerers, were evenly matched in combat power. It made perfect sense for them to defend their family honor. However, seeing Qenna and Anfel standing back and watching their respective sisters fight had the same feel as summoners watching their spirits brawl.

Smash!

Yvaren stepped back and accidentally crushed a grand volcanic lava cake underfoot. She was fine, but the adjacent attendant got splashed with cake. At that moment, Nona charged forward and delivered a mid-air kick. The glycerin on her high-heeled boot ignited in the narrow contact, causing a massive explosion that echoed violently through the hall, jolting everyone’s eardrums!

Yvaren, like a lynx, leaped up and clung to the chandelier, while Nona quickly distanced herself from the blast zone, grabbing the unfortunate attendant who had been caught in their fight. With a flick, she tossed the cake-and-oil-covered attendant away. The guests moved aside and left a clear path for the hapless servant to roll out.

Perfect.

Nona and Yvaren exchanged a glance, ready to escalate the battle to involve the other attendants.

But just then, a steady, clear footstep echoed through the hall.

Both of them suddenly felt their bodies go rigid as their spirits, usually vibrant within their souls, huddled together in fear. The air grew heavy like lead, crushing their spines under its weight.

Adorable children dressed in exquisite outfits filed in from side doors, momentarily bewildered by the chaotic banquet hall. Then, two secret guards covered in pitch-black battle armor drew back the curtains. The elegant figure of a woman, veiled and dressed in a purple and rainbow gown, appeared before the eyes of the guests.

The hall fell silent in an instant. These once-arrogant family leaders, top-tier consortium members, and Sanctuary Sorcerers all knelt on one knee, bowing their noble heads. They greeted the Saint’s arrival with reverent silence.

Though it was their first time meeting her, and despite their long-held plans to overthrow the Yisuo Dynasty and seize the throne, when she actually stood before them, they found they couldn’t muster the courage to even look directly at her. Their soaring ambitions plummeted to the ground.

Soul? Miracle? Spirit?…- They racked their brains to pinpoint the source of their submission, trying to identify something extraordinary, seeking to discern any exaggeration in her formidable presence. But all their thoughts converged on one chilling possibility: she had done nothing at all.

Does a cat need to do anything to make a mouse flee? Does the sun need to do anything to evoke awe in humans? Does hell need to do anything to instill fear in the living?

While she looked human and moved like a human, everyone was acutely aware that the entity seated on the throne was not human.

The only difference between her and them was that she happened to wear a human guise.

That was the most terrifying part: they knew she wasn’t human, but they had no idea what she truly was inside. This ambiguity of the unknown most stirred their primal fear.

“At ease.”

Only then did they raise their heads, seeing her resting lightly against the throne, hands clasped tightly on her lap. The purple veil concealed most of her features, revealing just a pair of emerald-like, dazzling eyes. Two secret guards stood on either side, but everyone knew they were mere decorations.

The Empress needed no protection.

“The birth of the New Empress is now less than an hour away,” she began, delivering news that made many hearts skip a beat. “During the transition period, the New Empress will need considerable time to take over the First Gospel and will be too occupied to address your needs. Therefore, if you have any reasonable requests, you may present them now, and Raypel will handle them immediately.”

Raypel was the Empress’s self-given title, not her real name – an Empress’s real name was never shared publicly. This custom stemmed from the peculiar mechanism of the Gospel Ranking: when announcing the First Gospel, the Gospel Ranking wouldn’t disclose the Echoer’s full name. Instead, it takes a character from the name and combines it with the Gospel to form a new name.

This wasn’t a deliberate concealment by the Gospel; rather, it was the Gospel’s way of expressing affection, much like giving a pet a nickname instead of using its general name.

Moreover, with past Empresses always veiled during their appearance on the Ranking, for seven centuries of the Yisuo Dynasty, no one had ever known an Empress’s true visage or name. The title “Empress of Yisuo” didn’t refer to any specific emperor but was a collective designation for all Empresses within those seven hundred years.

Senhaeser and Belldate had initially planned to stir up trouble and provoke chaos in the hall, hoping that the Empress would question their disruptive behavior and they could then make a scene. However, the Empress completely ignored the commotion, leaving them too intimidated to act on their own.

At that moment, a little girl accidentally stepped on a rotten orange and fell to the carpet with a thud. Though she wasn’t hurt, the incident momentarily drew the Empress’s attention.

Without a word from the Empress, the secret guard beside her opened the Gospel Book. Instantly, all the dirt, food, garbage, and broken tables in the hall were levitated into the air. The attendants quickly moved in to clean up, restoring order before exiting the hall. The children hired to liven up the banquet also filed out, while other attendants brought in chairs. Within moments, the banquet was transformed into a meeting.

“Sit down,” the Empress commanded. “Time is short.”

Qenna watched as the attendants left the hall, then slowly took her seat. She had just mustered the courage to raise her hand when an urgent voice from the back interrupted her: “Your Majesty, where is my uncle, Mr. Bophis?”

The speaker was a Sanctuary sorcerer from the Mercury Family. Qenna had met Bophis years ago when she was still a two-wings sorcerer, and Bophis was already a Shadow Legend.

Bophis’s most astounding achievement was enclosing a juvenile Shadow Evil Drake in shadows and bringing it back to reality, successfully enslaving it. Now, everyone knew the Mercury Family possessed a formidable Shadow Evil Drake, and it seemed the family had also discovered some techniques to aid in virtual realm exploration from studying the drake. Over the past thirty years, the number of two-wings sorcerers in their family had surged.

“He is studying the Truth in the Royal Palace,” replied the Empress.

“Then why hasn’t he come to see me?” demanded the Mercury sorcerer. “The last time he returned to the family, he gave me a Shadow mark, saying that if I ever activated it, he would come to me immediately, no matter where he was. Now I am here in Nabistin and have activated the mark, but he still hasn’t appeared. Why?”

“Because he no longer cares about the Family, nor about you,” the Empress responded calmly. “This is the path all Nabistin sorcerers choose for the pursuit of Truth. To discover their own Truth before their life ends, they must travel lightly and abandon all burdens.”

“The path to Truth is the path of Angels, a path beyond humanity, and a path of solitude,” she continued, looking at Mercury. “From the moment Bophis left the Family, you should have come to this realization.”

Truth… Qenna sighed softly in her heart.

If it weren’t for her Family, she might already be a Nabistin sorcerer by now.

‘Nabistin sorcerer’ isn’t a regional term but specifically refers to those sorcerers invited by the Royal Family to live on the land or even within the Royal Palace of Nabistin, continuing their spellcasting studies by listening to the Gospel.

Typically, only Sanctuary sorcerers qualify for this, but the highest level these sorcerers can reach within Sanctuary is limited. To progress further, they must rely on the aid of the Gospel.

Over the centuries, many Sanctuary sorcerers have successfully advanced to legendary status in Nabistin, while few have accomplished this feat independently outside. After all, the contrast is stark: on one hand, sorcerers research on their own without guidance; on the other, they have teachers offering round-the-clock mentoring. For sorcerers who often hit barriers in Sanctuary, resisting such temptation is difficult.

However, Nabistin sorcerers come with one important characteristic: severing family ties.

Upon arriving in Nabistin, most Sanctuary sorcerers quickly refuse any contact with their Family. Legendary sorcerers receive royal patronage and undergo relentless training in the depths of the Royal Palace, often never emerging until their death.

Despite this, a multitude of Sanctuary sorcerers continue to accept the Royal Family’s invitation, driven by the overwhelming allure of mastering spellcasting compared to worldly attachments. Especially when their path forward seems unclear, they are willing to pay any price to glimpse higher achievements.

Besides a certain Mudborn sorcerer, most Sanctuary sorcerers are idealists with a passionate pursuit of spellcasting. Those Red Hat Sanctuary sorcerers still active in the outside world are likely amassing Gospel points, so they can receive more substantial Gospel guidance upon retirement in Nabistin.

For example, Cleos is so obsessed with being ranked first on the “National Red Hat Ranking” because such a retirement ranking directly grants her access to the Royal Palace where she can listen to the Gospel, almost guaranteeing her ascension to legendary status!

Over the centuries, all Sanctuary Legends come to Nabistin to complete the final journey of their lives. The only exception is Vamora-the bonds of his Family shackled every patriarch, and even legendary necromancers willingly devoted their lives to the Family. Whether their efforts were righteous or not is another matter.

Currently, all legendary sorcerers influenced by the Gospel are studying in the palatial complexes deep within the Royal Palace, leaving no legends out in the world.

Besides the Red Hats, those Sanctuary sorcerers still outside either have attachments more important than spellcasting or unresolved conflicts in the secular world.

In short, Mercury could abandon any hope of relying on his Family’s legendary support.

Mercury sighed and pleaded, “Our Family’s future is already teetering on the brink. Could you allow my uncle to meet with me? I only ask that he intervenes at critical moments to save the Family from its downward spiral.”

The Empress nodded but did not respond directly. Instead, she asked, “Does anyone else have any other requests?”

“Archibald Harvey is an extremely dangerous individual. Allowing him to stay alive poses a threat to all our Families. Why hasn’t he been hunted down?”

“Ashe Heath is clearly the key figure behind the Doomsday disaster. Why was his warrant withdrawn?”

“Why has the Gospel been so influenced by Ashe Heath, causing the latter half of the Weaving Festival’s Future Ranking to be almost entirely invalid?”

“Igor Bukin will eventually establish the Four Pillars Cult; he must be eliminated as soon as possible!”

“Why did the Gospel weave the Doomsday scenes seen in the Art Ranking? Where was the Yisuo Royal Family during that time?”

Qenna raised her hand and posed a piercing question: “In the Happiness Ranking, it was mentioned that the future Empress of the Yisuo Royal Family also fell to Ashe Heath, and even the rankings were invalidated. Does this mean the next Empress no longer qualifies to control the Gospel?”

This question was no less than a challenge to the throne, leaving everyone momentarily speechless. However, the Empress did not react immediately. She waited for a moment until no one else spoke, then slowly said, “All the questions you mentioned ultimately boil down to a single issue: Does the New Empress have the ability to continue controlling the Gospel and protecting all living beings?”

“And this, Raypel cannot answer.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

“Because this answer,” the Empress continued, “will be given to you by the New Empress herself. The Gospel has already woven the best future, and in one hour, we will step into a new era.”

The best future?

It was difficult for everyone to reconcile the chaotic ranking lists caused by the Doomsday trio with the notion of the ‘best future.’ However, since the Empress had said so, they were willing to wait an hour.

At this moment, Yvaren suddenly spoke up, “I heard that several days ago there was a disturbance in the Royal Palace. It is rumored that the princess, the future Empress of Yisuo, who resides in the Tower, has gone missing. Is that true?”

The Empress slightly tilted her head to look at Yvaren. While her gaze showed no emotion, it made Yvaren so nervous that even her blue hair seemed to stand on end.

“The First Gospel will ascend to the throne in the Tower,” the Empress replied. “The Gospel has woven the best future, and no one can thwart the arrangement of fate.”