Sorcerer’s Handbook

Ashe suddenly remembered something, pulled over the car, and then a diary appeared in his hand.

“What’s this?”

“The Secret Toxin Diary.”

Ashe briefly explained the diary’s effects. Hearing that it could alleviate toxin symptoms, Sonya’s eyes lit up immediately. “Is there more? Get me one too!”

“Everyone will have one eventually.”

Because of the white mist anomaly during the “dream expedition” prize exchange, followed by being chased and slaughtered by a group of Red Hats, there was no time to rest. Ashe almost forgot about the Secret Toxin Diary for two days until now, when he opened it for the first time.

As for which toxin to record, Ashe had already decided—Vortex Secret Toxin!

They were no longer in the Sea of Knowledge, so the Vortex Secret Toxin was of no value to them. However, its symptoms were extremely annoying. If the Conceptual Secret Toxin occasionally made Ashe hate the world, the Vortex Secret Toxin made him hate water all the time.

Except for bathing, Ashe usually drank lemon tea or dark-colored drinks like toilet cleaner to avoid the ‘water aversion’ symptom of the Vortex Secret Toxin.

His own saliva was tolerable, but touching someone else’s saliva would definitely trigger the Vortex Secret Toxin!

The Vortex Secret Toxin might not be the most dangerous, but it definitely had the most significant impact on quality of life!

After recording the Vortex Secret Toxin in the diary, Ashe said, “The promotion conditions for the diary’s spirit are strange. The diary copy needs to be read over 500 times to automatically promote… But a normal person who finds a copy, after reading the toxin details, probably wouldn’t read it a second time, right? They might even throw it away.”

Sonya nodded. “So, you need to write something that makes people keep the copy and check it often.”

“What should I write?”

Deya immediately answered, “Fairy tales!”

Sonya thought for a moment. “Interesting novels?”

“So, all of you are suggesting using literary works as bait?” Ashe said. “I happen to know a literary genre that everyone, regardless of age or gender, will enjoy. Even different races can’t resist the allure of these works.”

The Witch and the Sword Princess were intrigued. “What genre is that powerful?”

“Erotic literature.”

“What is erotic literature?” Deya asked curiously.

But soon, her face turned bright red, likely because the White Queen had just given her younger sister, the Secret Princess, a lesson in sexual education. She covered her face and said, “Observer, are you planning to write a story with you and the Sword Princess as the main characters—”

“No, no, no,” Ashe shook his head and waved his hands, doubly denying the idea. “You don’t understand, Witch. When writing this kind of fantasy literature, it’s crucial not to be too familiar with the subject to evoke a sense of longing. Just like romance authors often haven’t experienced romance themselves, I can’t write erotic literature about people I’m too familiar with. It would lose its appeal—and it would be disrespectful to the Sword Princess. I’m not that kind of person!”

Ashe spoke righteously, firmly stating he had no such intentions, not giving the Sword Princess a chance to get angry. After all, such thoughts could only remain in his head; writing them down would likely get him killed by the Sword Princess on the spot.

However, besides that, Ashe actually had many local themes he could write about, such as “The Infirmary in the Prison”, “Living with a Bewitcher”, “Picked Up by the Female Boss”, “The Elf Mother of the Female Boss”, and so on…

Just as Ashe’s thoughts flowed like a spring, Sonya suddenly said coldly:

“I don’t mind if you write about me or not, but I remember you’re supposed to be a reincarnated amnesiac, right?”

“Uh, yes.”

“After your amnesia, have you had any intimate experiences with other women?” Sonya stared at Ashe, her gaze sharp.

“…No.”

Sonya withdrew her gaze. “Without experience, how can you write that kind of passionate feeling?”

Although he felt slightly belittled, the Sword Princess was absolutely right, and Ashe found himself unable to refute it.

However, as a corporate slave, Ashe was best at rising to challenges, working himself to death, and outcompeting his peers!

“Then I’ll figure out a way to fill that knowledge gap in real life…”

Sonya placed a hand on Ashe’s shoulder, summoning a hazy, translucent One-Winged Spirit that looked like it would disappear after a single use.

“Observer, this is the Miracle Procedure ‘Heart Pen’ I got for you,” Sonya’s voice suddenly became exceptionally gentle. “The primary spirits are your Heart Sword and Sword Mark. Do you know how powerful it is in combat?”

“How powerful is it?”

“Wherever the Heart Pen passes, it leaves an ink mark,” Sonya lightly traced her finger across the back of Ashe’s neck. Despite the hood, Ashe felt goosebumps rise. “The ink mark never disappears, and anything that passes through it gets sliced. If combined with a Toxic Spell spirit, the wounds inflicted by the ink marks can even expand and become contaminated, causing the victim to die a gruesome death.”

“I spent 15 gold coins to buy this Miracle Procedure for you. Do you like it?”

Ashe nodded vigorously. “Yes, I like it very much. I’m completely satisfied. I think I mistook my urge to create for actual talent. I probably don’t have much skill in erotic literature. Sword Princess, why don’t you decide what I should write instead?”

Although he wasn’t sure why the Sword Princess was angry, her overly gentle demeanor was a clear sign. Plus, she had spent money to buy a Miracle Procedure for him. This was the first time an operator had ever made an in-game purchase for him.

Being pampered felt great, and since the Sword Princess had rewarded him, Ashe felt he had to show his appreciation so she could experience the joy of in-game purchases.

However, Sonya herself didn’t have any good ideas. At that moment, Deya suddenly said, “The White Queen suggested that, Observer, you simply write a diary in the notebook.”

“If other sorcerers find a copy, just being able to learn about another sorcerer’s life would be enough to keep them intrigued and coming back for more. Plus, Observer, you’re writing a diary—fairy tale villains love sneaking peeks at other people’s diaries.”

Ashe and Sonya thought about it and realized it was indeed a good idea. They had overcomplicated things—having the chance to peek into another sorcerer’s life was inherently appealing.

However, Ashe ran into a problem before he even started writing: “There are many things in reality that I can’t disclose for now, and in the Virtual Realm, there’s not much to write about besides the Sword Princess being affectionate with me. Others would definitely find it boring.”

“I said I wasn’t being affectionate!” Sonya bit her lip and retorted, then added, “While you might not have anything to write about now, you can write about past events.”

Of course!

Sonya’s words were a revelation to Ashe. He now realized that his adventures in Shattered Lake Prison were incredibly thrilling, and he had always wanted to share them. However, the Sword Princess had already heard his tales, and whenever he tried to boast to Lise in reality, Harvey and Igor would always interrupt him, so he never had the chance to recount his daring prison break.

The Secret Toxin Diary was the perfect excuse for him to relive those memories.

Since he had to explore the Virtual Realm with the Sword Princess and others later, Ashe quickly jotted down three lines in the diary before closing it.

“Year 1668, the city I lived in was rated the safest in the country.”

“I made an indelible contribution to this.”

“Because I was captured.”

First Layer of the Virtual Realm, Sea of Knowledge

“Spellforce grows so slowly…”

Freya lay on the small boat, staring idly at the white mist.

Thanks to the boat, the Bewitcher’s virtual realm exploration speed was two to three times faster than that of an average sorcerer. Despite this, after so many days, she had only managed to condense a single silver feather, still far from achieving the silver full-winged status.

If only she could encounter the legendary Whirlpool, Freya thought. To a silver sorcerer, there was no adventure more enviable than finding a Whirlpool. It could save months or even years of hard work in an instant. The time saved could even be spent having a child with Ashe.

Why did she suddenly think of that jerk? Freya wondered. Come to think of it, there was a time during a meal when she and Ashe discussed the Whirlpool. Ashe mentioned he knew how to find one, but that the secret was toxic. Back then, Freya wasn’t a sorcerer, and if she ended up living her life as an ordinary person, the secret would have been nothing more than poison, so Ashe didn’t reveal it.

Shortly after Ashe left, she summoned the “Echo” spirit and became a sorcerer.

Just a few days too late…

If she had become a sorcerer a bit earlier…

Maybe…

Freya patted her cheeks, banishing thoughts of the troublesome man from her mind. As she prepared to continue her exploration, she suddenly heard a ‘plop’ behind her, as if something had fallen into the water.

“Hmm?”

The Bewitcher turned around and saw a diary floating on the surface of the sea.