Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 631: An Unspoken Understanding

It was botched, but not completely.

Igor entered the hidden Sanctuary within the Temporal Cage, contemplating his next move.

Had Silver Lantern perished, he could simply reveal the truth. After all, with her gone, people would at most sigh over it, and even if they speculated about her plans, they could never learn the truth-unless, by some chance, they discovered her Sorcerer’s Handbook in the Virtual Realm. Otherwise, Silver Lantern would merely die as a ‘complex-minded’ villain.

Their sole duty was to leave behind fragments of words after Senlo turned into a living hell, so others would know there once was a great Kingdom that spanned four divine eras-ordinary people could only achieve so much.

But Silver Lantern was not dead.

Not only had she escaped, but she had also destroyed key clues, making it impossible for others to unlock the third “Link of Truth.” Thus, in their eyes, Silver Lantern remained a murderous natural disaster-neither understandable nor supportable by them.

It’s impossible for people to empathize with a monster.

Moreover, following the recent bloody battle, they could only feel disgust, fear, and hatred towards Silver Lantern. Chikara, Gwen, and Raven, Igor noticed, even Harvey had a gloomy expression. The necromancer was silently biting his nails, muttering about making ‘skull cups’ and ‘giving intestines to Alice as snacks.’

This was why Igor had not stopped Silver Lantern from destroying the clues. Since she was still alive, let her continue living as a demonic monster, enduring hatred and wreaking havoc on all.

After all, to her, everything was just a delusion.

However…

Igor frowned slightly as he looked at the shimmering golden “Link of Truth” on the third Fog Wall.

Could it be that Silver Lantern truly intended to trap them here forever? If not for Igor’s own effort in solving the last puzzle, they would have no chance to pass through the Fog Wall and the only way to leave the Dead City would be beyond it.

But, the Con Artist still had one final solution: simply explain the deduction process to Ashe and the others.

Now that Silver Lantern had completely fallen out with Ashe, whether she was good or bad, it no longer mattered to him. From the moment Silver Lantern severely injured Ashe, they were clear of each other, returning to being strangers.

Even if Ashe knew the secret, he might only feel slight regret, but as years passed, he’d realize it was just a boring delusion. Nevertheless, it was better than being trapped in the Sanctuary for thirty thousand years.

Unless there really was no other way, Igor did not want to reveal it.

Honestly, the Con Artist was not the kind who liked to make others look good; on the contrary, he preferred to ruin others’ meticulous plans. Seeing others helplessly rage in frustration was one of the few pleasures in his life that never bored him.

What could be more interesting than breaking someone’s defenses?

So, Igor never thought that a chaotic Con Artist like him would one day help an enemy like Silver Lantern, reach an unspoken understanding with her, and together conceal a secret sealed within the Dead City.

Silver Lantern was like a lonely gardener, nurturing a beautiful flower that was planted in another country, in someone else’s garden. Although she had the chance to pluck it, she let it continue to live in a clean and beautiful garden, looking at it from across a country.

Even though she herself had nothing left.

How foolish.

And I, moved by such folly, am also a fool. When did I become so foolish?

Igor sighed internally, hearing Ashe beside him ask, “Would a Gray Fox Sorcerer really trap his kin in the ‘Sanctuary’? Just because they couldn’t solve the three puzzles left behind, they’d have to stay here until death? Even if the students of the Gray Fox Divine Era had no rights, it wouldn’t be so tragic, right?”

Everyone paused, realizing this anomaly-even if a Gray Fox Sorcerer aimed to have his successors know the truth, he wouldn’t leave behind such a merciless testing mechanism.

If the Gray Fox Divine Era was such a dark and hopeless time, then maybe, but according to records, the people of the Gray Fox Divine Era were generally positive and society had a good atmosphere; they didn’t even have prisons-either there were no criminals, or only the death penalty existed.

Ashe was quite curious about what the prisons of the Gray Fox Divine Era looked like, as with his vast experience, he was qualified to judge the quality of prisons. After exploring half of Senlo without finding any prison remains, he felt quite disappointed.

Even if a Gray Fox Sorcerer became hysterical facing a cataclysm, he wouldn’t be cruel enough not to leave any way out for his successors.

“But we are not the kin of a Gray Fox Sorcerer.”

Chikara broke the truth, “Many of the Gray Fox Ruins require citizenship to enter; if you don’t have citizenship, it could even trigger a security mechanism against enemies. To them, only Gray Fox citizens are considered their own kin. If there is any way, it must be triggered by someone with citizenship… Ah! If a Gray Fox citizen came to rescue me, I’d even be willing to be his chair!”

Moments later, Ashe sat on the orc’s back, staring at the Transcendent card in his hand.

If he could successfully perform Divine Hosting, he could use the citizenship from the Transcendent Demi-God era, which had already helped him overcome many obstacles; he guessed it would work here as well.

“There’s a delay in Divine Hosting, and since this is remote Divine Hosting,” Ashe pondered, “Normally, it’s a second at its fastest, three seconds at its slowest. If now one second really equals one year, then we should prepare to live here for one to three years.”

Compared to the terrifying scale of thirty thousand years, being trapped for three years was acceptable to everyone. Moreover, the thought of suddenly having three years of undisturbed free time made everyone’s spirits lift.

Raven stated, “Once I heal from my injuries, I can use this time to hone my battle skills thoroughly. These past two months of running around gave me many insights, just needing time to settle.”

“Although there are no materials here, three years is enough for me to properly fix up Alice,” the necromancer said. “I can also try to unlock the ‘Blood Corpse King’.”

Chikara also expressed his excitement, “With such a long time, I can completely fuse my fire spell with the Spatial Sect. I tell you, I have a fantastic Adventure idea-by enraging others, making them burn in their own anger! Sounds awesome, right? Now I just need a Mental Sanctuary to help…”

Gwen remained silent, and Igor looked at Ashe, who was resting his chin in his hand in distress, “Three years… Although I also want to spend some time organizing the battle system, three years is too long! It hasn’t even been three years since I became a sorcerer!”

As Ashe spoke, Igor and Harvey were somewhat indifferent, but Chikara, Gwen, and even Raven looked at the Cult Leader with surprise.

“Mr. Ashe, you became a Sanctuary in less than three years?”

Chikara was stunned, “One level per year? Excuse my boldness, but is Heath a surname of a Divine Sovereign? Or is the rumor true that you’re a bastard of the Virtual Realm? By the way, Mr. Ashe, are you comfortable sitting? I can adjust the comfort of the back, if you find it too hard, please tell me, I suddenly discovered I have a talent for being a chair!”

Ashe suddenly understood the situation of the sword Princess in the academy.

If you knew I was just an ordinary person half a year ago, would you immediately shift your faith from the Four Pillars and Raven Annihilation to Ashe… Igor thought cynically, approaching the Fog Wall while they were chatting, and quietly reached out his hand.

He needed to confirm whether he could pass through the Fog Wall. If he could, then this was an escape route if ‘citizenship’ was ineffective. If not-

Igor’s pupils dilated as he saw his hand stopped by the Fog Wall, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

He had already deciphered the third “Link of Truth,” so why couldn’t he pass through the Fog Wall?

Could his deduction be wrong? Was it impossible without the key clue destroyed by Silver Lantern? But-

“Igor.”

The Con Artist turned his head to see Ashe approaching him, “What’s up?”

“Just saw you near the Fog Wall and came to check.” Ashe looked at the golden runes on the Fog Wall, saying, “Since Silver Lantern destroyed the last clue, you don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

“And even if you piece together the truth, it probably won’t matter.”

The Con Artist was stunned, “Why wouldn’t it matter?”

“Because what the ‘Link of Truth’ really wants people to understand is not the ending,” Ashe stated. “If it were just the ending, then wouldn’t some of the people who entered the Dead City in the past two hundred years have the mental fortitude to handle it? It’s unlikely that they were just unable to accept the ending and got literally locked to death in the Temporal Cage, right?”

Right.

These three Links of Truth, with prior records, solving them is just a matter of time; theoretically, anyone could escape the Dead City on their own strength, so why did no one survive?

“So, there must be a gift attached to this ending, and that’s the key,” Ashe speculated. “Only those who accept this gift can walk out of the Temporal Cage. Although I don’t know what the gift is, in these two hundred years, only one person has accepted the gift, and the rest would rather die than accept it… Obviously, we should belong to the latter.”

Igor struggled to control his facial expression, casually responding to Ashe.

That’s it.

No wonder no one has gotten out of the Dead City.

No wonder Silver Lantern destroyed key information!

Because the ending isn’t important, what’s important is the world-saving measure reflected by the ending-world destruction!

Only those who are willing to accept this mission, even seeing it as a life goal, can leave the Sanctuary! Because she chose to face the challenge instead of seeking refuge!

This isn’t just the muttering of a delusional teenager or a fanciful daydream, but a belief that one must sincerely accept and strive for from now on. It’s too normal that no one could accept this task in over two hundred years; the weak can’t bear such a responsibility, and the strong can’t accept such a life.

If it was something selfish like ruling the world, it might be manageable, but destroying the world is completely self-sacrificial, benefiting no one, and even requires sacrificing one’s entire life. Silver Lantern’s acceptance only proves she’s a madwoman! She’s insane!

Igor didn’t know when Silver Lantern last entered the Dead City, but undoubtedly, she was the only successor who passed the Gray Fox Sorcerer’s test, and from that moment, she began walking the path of the world-destroying Silver Lantern!

In a daze, he seemed to see that scene: a young Temple nun climbing out of the pit of the Dead City, before dawn, under a dark sky, the lethal Choking Green tightly wrapped around her neck but unable to taint her at all. She was tripped by stones on the ground but quickly stood up again, her entire being bathed in darkness, yet her eyes were brighter and more profound than all of Senlo’s people.

This once-in-two-hundred-years will, due to the mechanism of the Idealistic Senlo, could even subtly influence her reality. Besides her extraordinary talent, she would encounter many Adventures, even if she didn’t leave home, people would voluntarily offer her assistance… Those who opposed her would face setbacks, and those she targeted would suffer misfortune and folly…

She wouldn’t hesitate to kill, because her life was more important than everyone else’s; to protect herself, she would eliminate all threats, since this was her mission after all… She would start wars, defect from cults, and prepare to execute her brutal, insane plan…

Considering this, Igor felt fortunate that he couldn’t pass through the Fog Wall: If he could, it meant he would also have to accept this mission!

It’s better to discuss with Ashe how to spend these three years…

As Igor was about to leave, he saw Raven slowly approaching the Fog Wall. The Con Artist was puzzled, because Raven, being illiterate, hadn’t even participated in the intelligence search, only responsible for peripheral security.

Raven seemed hesitant, but still reached out his hand toward the Fog Wall, and then-

His hand passed through.