Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 696: A Fresh Start

Currently, the Void Gate Spirit has been discovered to have three uses:

For walls with a thickness not exceeding 10 centimeters (One-Winged), 50 centimeters (two-wings), or 3 meters (three wings), it can directly open a temporary passage, which requires a constant consumption of spellforce to maintain. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

When used in the real world to create a portal, 99% of the time it opens into the virtual realm turbulence that can shred anything, and it’s extremely unstable, possibly collapsing the next second.

When used in the Virtual Realm, it creates a Void Gate, which is currently meaningless.

The Void Gate Spirit has a limited number of uses. A One-Winged can be used up to three times before self-destructing, and if used twice within 24 hours, it will also collapse from exhaustion. A two-wings can exist permanently but requires a 24-hour interval before the second use, or it will self-destruct. A three wings can be used three times in succession, but any more will lead to self-destruction.

In fact, spirits have always had usage limits, but most sorcerers only use them for commuting between the Virtual Realm and reality, so the market doesn’t allow them to overwork the spirits. Therefore, it’s rare for anyone to reach this limit. It was only during the Specter Seer’s resurrection event that many sorcerers fought continuously for over ten hours, occasionally causing spirits to collapse from exhaustion. The surviving spirits had to consume a lot of gold coins to recover from their weakened state.

Consumable spirits like the Void Gate Spirit have always existed, such as the Reverse Year time spirit. Their common feature is that their effects far exceed their wing level. For example, a One-Winged Reverse Year can reverse a year of time, and a One-Winged Void Gate can open a portal-power far beyond their rank, naturally leading to restrictions.

Thus, even though the drop rate of Void Gate Spirits has increased, research into their use will be a long process. Even major powers may not yet have feasible methods for utilizing them, let alone Ashe and his group, who are essentially a black market operation.

However, when faced with Raven’s question, Ashe was surprised, “You noticed?”

“The first day you learned about the Void Gate Spirit, you were happy; the second day, you went out during the day to gather information, full of anticipation; the third day, you rented a basement for research and began to feel anxious; the fourth day, you spent the morning playing cards with Chikara and Harvey and only went to the basement in the afternoon, showing a bit of slack.”

“And then yesterday and today, you didn’t go to the basement, nor did you play with Chikara,” Raven said. “More importantly, you actually asked me for advice on combat skills and even sparred with me. That’s when I knew you had found a way to leave.”

Ashe was indignant, “Is it so strange for me to seek you out for learning!?”

“It’s not strange; the strange one is me,” Raven replied. “Because I’m just a fierce Death Raven, no one tries to please a raven, no one gets close to a raven. So when someone goes out of their way to get close to me, I know something unpleasant is about to happen.”

Ashe mumbled, “I wasn’t really going out of my way… And who says no one gets close to you? Aren’t we quite familiar?”

“You never invite me to play games.”

“That’s because every time I see you, you’re either sharpening your blade or training. How could I interrupt you doing serious work?” Ashe protested his innocence. “I never disturb Igor when he’s counting money either!”

“And if you want to join us in our activities, you should just say so. How else would I know you want to be part of the Sleepless and Meal-less Club?”

“Sleepless and Meal-less Club?”

“Yes, the Sleepless and Meal-less Club.”

Raven paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, “I tried being proactive before, but it ended up making others uncomfortable.”

“Huh?”

“Once, when I passed through a small town, I played a game of kick-the-bag with some kids. I was happy at the time, but then someone complained to Tanomoo, saying I was intimidating those kids… I mean, who would want to play with someone dressed so strangely and smelling of blood?”

Raven’s tone was flat, his voice gradually lowering. However, Ashe had a different opinion. “Was it the kids who complained, or their parents?”

“It was probably the parents, but it doesn’t matter…”

“It does matter. You’re not blind, just illiterate. When you were playing with the kids, could you really not tell if they were happy or uncomfortable?”

“I felt the same way. Initially, I might have been a bit reluctant to approach you, given that I’ve reached the age where physical activities start to annoy me… But soon enough, I got into it because you were genuinely teaching me, so I had to respond sincerely.”

“Your appearance is indeed intimidating, but goodwill is something felt with the heart, not seen with the eyes. A good person who looks fierce is still a good person, and a bad person who looks beautiful is still a bad person… And not only can I sense it, but even Harvey and Igor, who are notoriously sensitive and aloof, are considerate of your feelings. You’ve already earned their recognition.”

“I don’t need their recognition.”

“But you’ve already acknowledged them, haven’t you?”

Ashe continued, “From now on, there’s no White Crow to accept goodwill for you, so you need to learn to accept it openly and also learn to express kindness proactively. Don’t hide behind Raven’s mask, wallowing in self-pity like an immature teenager… Did I make myself clear?”

“Yes.”

“Sigh, having to worry about a grown man like this,” Ashe sighed, “I’ve given too much to this team.”

After a brief silence, Ashe slowly said, “We plan to leave Black Robe Town tomorrow and start our journey home. It’ll probably take about ten days to reach our destination.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be this soon. Although we have the Void Gate Spirit as a crucial means, creating a space gate to another Kingdom still presents many technical challenges-challenges we can’t overcome.”

He shrugged, “But Gwen’s luck changed everything.”

No one expected that the key intelligence for returning home would come from Gwen, the captive they brought back from Dead City. Gwen, a two-wings sorcerer, had ventured into the Time Continent and accidentally entered the Fate Questioning building.

She successfully answered two fate questions, and as a reward, she was allowed to ask the Virtual Realm a question. Her question was, “What’s the best way I can achieve time travel across Kingdoms?”

The Virtual Realm responded, “Reach the lower level of the Senlo Kingdom and use the Void Gate Spirit there. This will create a stable space gate, greatly reducing the chance of encountering virtual realm turbulence, and may randomly lead to other Kingdoms.”

After Igor verified it, the intelligence turned out to be true. As for why Gwen asked this question, she claimed it was “because everyone has been worried about this issue lately,” but Igor believed she wasn’t being altruistic; it was simply the smartest choice. After all, Senlo was about to become a bloody grindstone, and she had already offended the Four Pillars Cult. Asking how to leave was clearly more practical than any other question.

Regardless, Ashe and the others finally had a clear goal: reach the lower level of Senlo, and keep refreshing the Void Gate until they open a portal to the Gospel Kingdom.

“Congratulations to you all.”

“Thank you.”

Ashe put the trash back into the bag and said, “Chikara was already our shared slave. To survive, he sold himself to us, so we will definitely take him along-at least Igor hasn’t squeezed all the value out of this orc yet. But Chikara is easygoing by nature; he doesn’t resist leaving Senlo.”

“Gwen is the same. Whether for us or for herself, she will definitely follow us out. So, our goals align.”

With that, Ashe took the initiative to walk out of the alley, with Raven following behind. There should have been a question here, but Ashe found it hard to voice, and Raven had no intention of answering.

As they crossed the street, a large crowd suddenly poured out from a nearby building. This building was the only auction house in Black Robe Town. Originally, auctions were held once a week, but recently they’ve been happening almost daily. The continent-wide war shattered the isolationist mindset of all the cults, and nearby cults brought out their prized possessions to Black Robe Town to exchange for resources and enhance their combat power.

Ashe was initially interested in the auction, as it was a classic element of a fantasy adventure. Not triggering competitive bidding, robbery, or finding hidden treasures would make the time travel pointless, wouldn’t it?

But after experiencing one auction, Ashe completely gave up on the activity.

Finding hidden treasures was impossible, and competitive bidding and robbery couldn’t happen in Black Robe Town. More importantly, the auction items were mostly useless to them-Ashe was from the Swordsmanship Sect, Igor from the Mental Sect, and Harvey from the Necromancy Sect. These three sects were considered the lowest of the low in the Senlo wasteland, with few practitioners and naturally scarce related outputs!

The Senlo wasteland favored Physical, thunder spell, fire spell, Earth spell, and Senlo, which were spellcasting sects capable of withstanding harsh environments. These were versatile spells that could both fight and produce. It’s like buying the cheapest entry-level car; customers naturally expect it to handle grocery shopping, cargo transport, and long-distance driving.

Swordsmanship and Mental, being delicate spellcasting sects, were obviously not in demand. The only relevant sect, Necromancy, had no development ground due to the Green Beast-if bodies were buried, the Green Beast would dig them up from the graves to eat, so cremation was popular in the Senlo wasteland.

With no desire for shopping, Ashe naturally skipped the auction.

Curiously glancing at the auction house, he noticed three girls in tight outfits, loaded with many bags, running towards them.

“Run!”

From afar, the girls tossed two treasure bags to Ashe and Raven, then disappeared into an alley like a gust of wind. Ashe instinctively caught them, and immediately saw a group of people bursting out of the auction house, some heading straight for him…

“Damn!”

Cursing, Ashe grabbed Raven and ran. Pedestrians on the road parted ways for them, some even clapping and cheering them on to run faster.

“Why are we running?” Raven, quickly grasping the situation while still able to talk during the run, asked, “Can’t we just return the stuff? We’re not accomplices of those three.”

“But they don’t know that!” Ashe shouted back. “It’s not just that they won’t believe us; we’d get beaten up before we could even explain. More likely, we’d be dead before we could get a word out!”

“That’s impossible.”

“How is it not possible? Right now, I’m in a Mirage Prism state, unable to use spirit spellforce, and I can’t carry you away! Quick, let’s jump onto these crates and run across the rooftops!”

Raven was about to say something but then fell silent, taking the lead and leaping onto the rooftop. Ashe roared and tried to follow, jumping onto a crate but failing to grab the eave-he had misjudged his own height and jumping ability! However, Raven quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

People from the auction house cursed from below. Some tried to follow their method by climbing crates, while others fetched ladders from nearby shops to pursue them. Occasionally, someone would shoot at them with dirt guns-most Gray Fox firearms required spellforce to operate and were useless here.

Ashe and Raven ran and jumped across rooftops, crossing balconies and climbing beams. The street vendors and pedestrians stopped to watch their escape. The torches and shouts from below seemed to compose a flowing melody, accompanying them on their escape.

Tonight, Black Robe Town danced for them.

A sense of absurdity spread within Ashe as he ran. He thought of himself as a legendary sorcerer, now fleeing in panic from a group of ordinary sorcerers with at most two-wings. Although he didn’t know what was in the bags, he was sure they weren’t anything he needed or even cared for.

Reaching the edge of a roof, Ashe jumped forcefully but his jumping power was indeed lacking. It seemed he would crash into the wall like a squashed mosquito, but Raven grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

Ashe looked up, and the ink-black night sky filled his vision.

Strangely, despite the close clamor and bright lights, they felt distant to Ashe; though the night sky was far and deep, it seemed as if he was enveloped within it. A subtle sense of alienation quickly grew within him.

He knew this was a typical melodramatic thought anyone might have upon reaching a rooftop, but he also felt as if the wasteland was acknowledging his intentions, bidding him farewell in its unique way, and reminding him not to forget his baggage.

He exhaled deeply and said, “Tamashi Raven Annihilation.”

Raven turned to look at him.

“Give up your revenge, give up your homeland, and come with us,” Ashe said, gazing at the Death Raven. “Then, start anew.”