Sorcerer’s Handbook -
Chapter 19
Every era has its own dominant theme. In the enigmatic years before the gods scattered their glory, the theme was violence, plundering, and destruction. All creatures fought over resources, risking their lives to survive and proliferate.
But in this age of the gods, Igor believes the current main theme is domination.
Dominating others, organizations, cultures, thoughts…
Large-scale wars have become rare, and people no longer seek to expand their territories. Everyone vies for the resources that already exist. The class system has solidified, and the establishment has become supreme. Plunder has been replaced by a more sophisticated form of exploitation, and all actions must adhere to the game rules set a millennium ago.
Uncouth brute force is out of fashion; only the romantic domination of the mind can truly thrive in this world.
When it comes to domination, the Mind Sorcerer is undoubtedly the best choice.
Although Igor is merely a Two Wings Mind Sorcerer, in a world where class is innately fixed, where one’s life path is determined at birth, and where the vast majority have no chance of reaching the Virtual Realm of the Blood Moon Kingdom, he is akin to an apex predator at the top of the food chain.
The most perilous knowledge is monopolized by the sacred bloodline and the Moonshadow, with ordinary Sorcerers not even aware of the Mind Faction, let alone prepared to defend against it.
Even Igor’s mental knowledge came about because of the awakening of Bewitcher bloodline within him, and his subsequent discoveries of the vital spirits ‘Resonance’ and ‘Fulfillment’ in the Virtual Realm, which completely transformed him into a Mind Sorcerer.
Additionally, he is a Contractor in the insurance industry, possessing the basic spirit ‘Contract’, which allowed him to create a miracle specifically designed for Intelligent Creatures: ‘Speak and Execute’!
Whether it’s a joke or a lie, once someone reaches an agreement with Igor, he can use ‘Resonance’ to establish a connection, ‘Contract’ to set the promise, and ‘Fulfillment’ to compel them to act on their words!
In civilized society, his set of miracles is virtually unbeatable. If it weren’t for hitting a snag, he would now be lying on a sunny beach villa enjoying fine wine, instead of fighting in the basement level of a prison surrounded by lake water.
But as long as there are rules, he is still a dominator, even in prison.
Even though the use of spirits is prohibited here, spirits are the manifestation of knowledge, and Igor can still indirectly achieve his goals.
Spirits are like the fire used for cooking meat. Even if the fire is out, with some effort, one can start it again and use it for cooking.
‘Resonance’, ‘Contract’, and ‘Fulfillment’ are all spirits closely related to the art of speech. With the power of language alone, Igor can bypass the chip’s Restrictions and stir the spirits’ resonance.
His past 45 Deathmatches were won using the miracle ‘Speak and Execute’, forcibly making his opponents agree to the deathmatch. Even after losing, they would agree to a second, third, fourth match, continuing until Igor drained all their Contribution points.
‘He will attack my left cheek.’
“Weak, too weak, far too weak!”
Igor easily dodged Ashe’s attack and taunted him with disdain: “Your punches still have the smell of milk on them. Who do you think you’re going to hit with that?”
‘He will lift his foot to attack my left calf.’
‘He wants to grapple with me.’
‘He’s going for a right hook.’
A strong current of thoughts incessantly flowed from his opponent into Igor’s consciousness. Igor looked at this man, who seemed like a trapped beast, with a pitying gaze and a smirk of contempt on his face—once the livestock is chained, it has already lost the ability to harm its master!
This was a little trick Igor invented after being incarcerated, not quite a Miracle but merely a technique that utilizes the ‘Contract’ to maintain a continuous ‘resonance’ between Igor and his opponent, aided by linguistic suggestion, thus gaining insight into his opponent’s offensive intentions!
If he could leave Shattered Lake Prison, perhaps Igor could develop a Miracle akin to ‘preempting the enemy’.
But even an unrefined technique is enough for Igor to achieve 45 consecutive victories!
However, the winning streak would soon increase by another ten—In Igor’s eyes, Ashe Heath was already like a lamb seasoned with cumin, ready to be roasted! This Deathmatch was just the beginning; next, Igor intended to win ten consecutive battles against him, stripping away his initial 50 Contribution points completely!
This is the essence of a Deathmatch: to weed out the weak and discern the livestock!
Crawl at my feet and let me trample you, livestock!
‘He’s going to throw a straight punch at my chest.’
Igor dodged his punch and countered, teasingly saying, “Keep it up, you almost got me—huh?”
Even though the punch missed, Ashe quickly ducked to avoid Igor’s counterattack and even managed to get close enough to throw an elbow.
Igor naturally retreated swiftly to dodge, but his mind was filled with doubt—this was the first time Ashe had avoided his attack.
Even if it was just once, it wasn’t a good sign.
No more playing around, it’s time to knock him out.
With this thought, Igor shook off the blood from his fist and charged forward with a loud shout, focusing all his mind on capturing Ashe’s intentions and aiming for his vital points!
“Beautiful Beast, stop wasting time and finish it!”
“It’s rare to see a newcomer; don’t break him so quickly!”
“Beautiful Beast, with so many Contribution points, why not let me have a turn!”
“Beautiful Beast, use a knife for your next fight; I want to taste some tough thigh meat! Langna, don’t you dare fight me for it!”
The Prisoners in the stands laughed and joked, while Langna, who was drawing circles on her boyfriend’s chest, suddenly said, “Even if I don’t fight you for it, you won’t get a chance.”
“Huh?”
The Prisoners were momentarily stunned, then fixed their gaze and their expressions changed: “This kid… Is he a Follower of the Four Pillars?”
They saw that Ashe’s movements, though clumsy, were visibly becoming more efficient in defense. Previously, every one of Igor’s punches landed, but now if one out of four of Igor’s punches hit, it was considered good, and even that one punch might be blocked by Ashe’s arms.
It wasn’t so much a leap in physical ability, but more like he was developing a battle instinct.
Ashe’s movements hadn’t gotten faster, in fact, due to fatigue and pain, they had slowed down, but they had become more crisp, as if he had completely adapted to Igor’s style. Whenever Igor lifted his hand, Ashe seemed to know instinctively how to respond.
Honestly, within the Deathmatch Society, Igor wasn’t considered strong, not even ranking in the second tier. His strength lay in his ability to flay the weak, exploiting the Prison rules to drain the losers of their Contribution points completely. But everyone had to admit that Igor had a good eye for spotting those he could bully; his previous 45 consecutive Deathmatch victories spoke for themselves.
When Ashe stepped into the Arena with Igor, everyone thought that Ashe would lose all his Contribution points and become a regular guest of the Blood Moon Tribunal. After all, Ashe hadn’t shown any real battle talent and looked like a pretty boy, making people deeply skeptical whether this so-called Cult of the Four Pillars was just a fancy name for a social club for rich women.
However, in just a few minutes of battle, Ashe had undergone a transformation, from a greenhouse flower who didn’t even know how to hold a defensive stance, to a seasoned, predatory plant of the jungle, even beginning to gain the upper hand!
“Taig, sir, it seems we have someone of your type here,” someone laughed: “Who would have thought that Igor could actually be outfoxed?”
“No.”
Taig, the old man with white hair who usually played the coward, now looked very serious: “He’s not pretending to be a pig to eat tigers, he was genuinely a pig before.”
“The body doesn’t lie.” Langna sat up straight on her boyfriend’s lap and added: “His body hasn’t been honed by battle at all; you can tell he’s been pampered like a scholar. I was the one who brought him in, and I could see clearly that all his physical reactions were not like someone trained for combat, not even a child’s.”
“From his initial defensive stance at the start of the fight, this battle might even be one of the few close-combat engagements he’s had in recent years.”
Someone murmured in disbelief: “How is that possible… that would mean…”
“That’s right.” In the darkness, Langna said with a hint of regret: “The wrong person, in the wrong place, has awakened the wrong talent. It’s really… such a pity.”
Snap!
Igor blocked Ashe’s punch with both hands, the first time he had gone on the defensive during the fight. Compared to the spectators in the stands, Igor had a deeper sense of Ashe’s rapid improvement—it was like watching a silent beast waiting for slaughter turning into… a beast that roars fiercely while still awaiting slaughter.
“What a cute punch, softer than a baby’s,” Igor sneered: “Tired, aren’t you?”
Ashe remained silent, pacing and confronting Igor, looking for gaps in his defense.
“I have to admit, I did underestimate you. Your learning speed is far beyond my expectations, is it a gift from the Four Pillars? Or is it a talent you just discovered? I acknowledge that you have the potential to break free from being livestock, but your physical fitness is just too poor. It’s so bad that all I need to do is drag out the time to exhaust you!”
“Consider the one point of Contribution points you wagered as the ransom for your transformation from livestock to human. Be grateful, Ashe Heath, you’re the only animal that could break free from the chains, and that’s all there is to it. After this Deathmatch is over, I’ll have nothing more to do with you, nor will I accept any of your challenges. Under the rules of the Prison, you can’t retaliate against me.”
“Understanding the rules, using the rules, and dominating the rules, that’s what true strength is. And your bit of battle Talent is just enough to transform you from one kind of livestock into a… beast!”
“When you’re overwhelmed by power and struggling in the Blood Moon Tribunal, I’ll be sitting somewhere safe, sipping red wine and enjoying the spectacle of your disgrace. That’s the difference between you and me; that’s the distance between the dominated and the dominator!”
Just then, Ashe suddenly said, “Don’t cover your face.”
Igor smirked dismissively. Only a fool would listen to you—
“You’re pretty good-looking; I want to take a better look.”
‘You’re pretty good-looking; I want to take a better look.’
Ashe’s words and his true intentions reached Igor simultaneously, causing Igor to pause. It was the first time he had heard such praise in the Arena, and driven by an instinct to show off, he subconsciously dropped his hands—
Wham!
The punch, long in the making, smashed hard into Igor’s face, knocking him unconscious.
Ding ding ding!
“The battle is decided; the victor is Ashe Heath!”
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