Sorcerer’s Handbook

“I had no idea that working overtime could involve battle rounds.”

As dozens of wild mages suddenly emerged from a fissure in the distance, Ashe and Harvey, who were working late, dashed into the nearby forest. Ashe quickly donned his Twisting Mask to avoid detection, while Harvey’s skin rapidly cracked, resembling that of a corpse-effectively rendering most conventional Miracle scouting useless against them.

“So, if we get caught, the Pact gets terminated just like Annan said?”

“Exactly. The Pact stipulates that Belldate has to protect us, and if we get caught, it can’t be fulfilled, so no ransom needs to be paid.”

“Tsk,” Harvey grumbled. “I should have spent those 950 bell points sooner…”

“If we can’t gather the ransom in a day, we’ll remain Yvaren’s property for that day. She’d be more than happy to have us work for free forever,” Ashe replied. “This malicious ransom setup is just like that. We’ll gain some experience now, so next time when we break ties with Annan, we’ll be prepared.”

“Huh?” Harvey was surprised. “I thought you and Annan were getting along so well lately. I figured I’d need to prepare a coffin for you if we ever sought revenge.”

“No matter how well we get along, she won’t compromise on the Divine Sovereign’s Wish,” Ashe said, feeling a bit troubled. “Lise is the same way…”

“So why bother getting close to them in the first place?” Harvey asked. “In the end, it all comes down to a final battle, with blood marking the conclusion. The more feelings you have now, the more pain you’ll feel in the future.”

Ashe paused, staring blankly at the dark-skinned necromancer. “Is that why you…”

“Exactly. If you only have feelings for the dead like I do, you won’t face such inner turmoil,” Harvey replied. “Come on, join me as a lackey under Haagen-Dazs!”

“No thanks. I prefer things hot.”

Boom!

Suddenly, the shadows of the surrounding trees twisted and contorted grotesquely. Both men immediately used their Miracles to rush forward—Ashe’s Rush and Harvey’s transformation into a mist spirit—narrowly escaping the crushing shadows.

However, as the entire forest area was cleared, their figures were fully exposed under the night sky!

“They’re here!”

Shadow Sect… sorcerers from the Mercury Family!

“Hey, weren’t there supposed to be only Red Hats…?” Ashe glanced back. “I’m seeing a lot of people without hats… and Mercury isn’t even Mephila’s family!”

“Annan guessed wrong,” Harvey said coldly. “Yvaren never intended to show mercy.”

Days ago, Annan had analyzed Yvaren’s next moves. She concluded that once they gathered the ransom to leave Mephila, Yvaren, unable to keep them, would try to distance herself from them.

Sheltering Ashe and Harvey was equivalent to offending most of the Gospel. The two of them were practically ‘universal enemy triggers.’ If Yvaren could make them her subordinates, it would be fine; if not, she would try to minimize the negative impact—such as ‘voluntarily’ handing them over.

Even though the Pact prevented Yvaren from leaking information, Belldate had plenty of ways to work around it. The most likely scenario was that Mephila’s Red Hats would come after them, causing the Pact to fail. Yvaren wouldn’t have to protect them, and they could escape smoothly, treating it as a fleeting encounter, with nothing but the days of unpaid labor as a consequence.

At that time, Lise had asked what would happen if Yvaren decided to go all out against them, but Annan was confident in shaking her head.

“Yvaren may be a bit cunning, but she’s not inherently bad. I have a decent relationship with her; she wouldn’t be so ruthless.”

“Did Annan underestimate the blue-haired one’s cunning or overestimate her own charm…”

“Watch out!”

Two legs can’t outrun those who can fly. Several sorcerers quickly caught up. Ashe summoned his Love Sword to prepare for a Miracle clash when suddenly, there was a loud explosion beside him, and half the night sky turned crimson!

Hell erupted!

Lava from the adjacent hell zone suddenly erupted, spewing streams of magma hundreds of meters high, like a meteor shower crashing down on the flying sorcerers. While most sorcerers skillfully dodged the fiery rain, a dozen were drenched in hot lava!

“Wow,” Ashe’s eyes lit up. “Let’s run along the edge of the special area!”

“Ashe.”

A familiar voice reached his ears effortlessly. Ashe shuddered and turned to see two elegant and graceful Red Hat elves flying in the night sky.

“Qenna, Nona?” Ashe was stunned. “Why are you here too?”

“Of course, we’re here to catch you,” Qenna smiled. “Aren’t you our master on the Family Ranking? Why are you running?”

Hearing this, Ashe wished the Four Pillars would give him six more legs so he could outrun Harvey. Qenna and Nona simultaneously drew their handguns and aimed at Ashe—

Mist.

White mist from Belldate’s replica of the Sea of Knowledge area suddenly surged in, enveloping the flying sorcerers. The pursuers didn’t hesitate; unable to aim from a distance, they dove down to catch their target directly.

However, when Qenna dove, she found herself above the mist, which had nearly swallowed the entire manor below.

“Space Inversion Trap?” Qenna chuckled. “Playing with space in front of a Sanctuary sorcerer?”

This time, she expanded her Sanctuary and dove down, quickly piercing through the mist and reaching the ground. In the distance, she saw Ashe and Harvey running into the Golden Flow area. Besides her, the other four Sanctuary sorcerers also emerged from the mist.

The pursuers exchanged glances, knowing it was time to divide the spoils.

The five Sanctuary sorcerers used Movement Miracles, almost instantly closing the gap behind Ashe and Harvey, employing various restraining techniques to capture their prey—

Pop!

Ashe vanished with a popping sound, and Harvey collapsed into a pile of flesh.

A Substitute and a corpse!

At the same time, the Sanctuary sorcerers realized they were in yet another scenic spot—Belldate’s replica of the Golden Flow area!

As the golden droplets floated up, the sorcerers found their spellforce becoming incredibly heavy, turning their vast spellforce into a burden that immobilized them!

“Angelic Heritage, Belldate…” Except for ‘Weeping Sand Red Cap’ Cleos, the four family sorcerers exchanged cold glances. “Interesting…”

Meanwhile, Ashe and Harvey successfully regrouped with the others.

Lise ran straight into Ashe’s arms, clinging to him like an octopus.

Banjeet pulled a coffin out of his suitcase, and Harvey clung to it like an octopus.

After comforting Lise, Ashe asked, “How do we get out of here?”

“We’ll retrace their path. There must be a car parked nearby,” Annan said, her face extremely grim. “Even though Yvaren is holding them off for us, we don’t have much time-“

“You have no time left.”

With the words came the sound of bullets whistling through the air.

Three dull thuds, and Banjeet, Harvey, and Ashe fell instantly. Only Lise, whom Ashe hugged, and Annan, shielded by Banjeet, were unscathed.

“Lise, check their injuries!” Annan quickly transformed her earring into an Assault Gun and fired, but the opponent used a single bullet to shatter the wind barrier, deflecting all her shots!

The attacker was already close. With a sudden whistle, high-heeled boots slashed like razors. The Purple Moth dodged instinctively, raising her Assault Gun to counter!

Dodge, elbow strike, and then seamlessly pushing Annan against a nearby tree, the attacker aimed the gun at her waist!

“Come with me quietly, and I’ll ensure you all live,” Qenna said calmly. “I’ll even help you get married.”

“No way!”