Sorcerer’s Handbook -
Chapter 25
“Are you coming?”
Sonya looked puzzled, her gaze at Ashe laden with doubt.
For sorcerers, exploration in the Virtual Realm is undoubtedly an essential part of their growth, even the most important part.
The majority of adventures, breakthroughs, and promotions in this world happen in the Virtual Realm, and many sorcerers are willing to spend their entire lives exploring it.
Compared to the Virtual Realm, reality is just a stage for sorcerers to show off during their leisure time.
Despite the importance of the Virtual Realm, there has never been a definitive guide to its exploration.
Perhaps such guides exist, but at her current status, Sonya hasn’t had the chance to access them.
In her afternoon class, Sonya had specifically asked Professor Trozan for any handy tips about the Virtual Realm, but Professor Trozan could only spread his hands, indicating he had none to offer.
“The reason why sorcerers maintain an equal status is precisely because we are all equally ignorant in the Virtual Realm.”
Sonya knew that Professor Trozan held her in high regard and also realized that the professor was a typical swordsman who disdained lying or deceiving someone weaker like her.
Even Tri-Wings Sanctuary sorcerers lacked an effective guide, so Sonya didn’t have much expectation for the Observer.
“The Virtual Realm can be dangerous,” Sonya warned: “If I die here, it will take three days to recuperate my spirit.”
Sorcerers can die in the Virtual Realm.
The most common cause of death, of course, is drowning.
When sorcerers attempt to explore the depths of the ocean or remain motionless in the water, they risk being overwhelmed by the Sea of Knowledge.
This is why Sonya was so surprised by the small boat—it meant they were spared from the risk of drowning.
Death in the Virtual Realm can cause great trauma to the soul. The stronger the sorcerer, the greater the trauma and the longer the recovery.
A newbie sorcerer like Sonya only needs three days to recover, while a formal Silver Sorcerer needs at least fifteen days, and a Golden Sorcerer measures their recovery in months. It is said that Sanctuary and Legendary sorcerers’ recovery could even take years.
Being unable to explore the Virtual Realm means slowing down one’s growth by 90%, which is why sorcerers have varying perspectives on exploration: some prefer to be conservative, aiming for stable growth, while others enjoy taking risks.
Sonya used to be a risk-taker, having nothing to lose, but now she leaned towards caution—after discovering her talent for swordsmanship, Professor Trozan had predicted, “Gold within twenty years is no issue, and Sanctuary is within reach in forty.”
In the Stars Kingdom, even a Golden Two Wings sorcerer is a figure of some standing, fit to be a small noble, which could be said to fulfill Sonya’s life goals.
If she could advance to a Tri-Wings Sanctuary, she could even establish her own family, making a name for herself.
Therefore, Sonya’s petit bourgeois mentality was quite normal; she was aware of the brighter prospects she had, but the harsh reality forced her to cling tightly to what she had in hand.
The world is beautiful and worth striving for, she could only agree with the latter half of the sentiment.
But even with her conservative approach, Sonya had to explore the Virtual Realm; standing still was not an option. Countless schoolteachers, including Professor Trozan, had specifically warned her: never stay in one place for too long.
To this day, nobody knows what happens if you linger in the same spot for an extended period in the Virtual Realm, but those who enter and then halt in their tracks soon stop breathing in reality, and not even Healing Sorcerers can save them, because their Souls are no longer in their bodies.
Hence, there’s a saying: if you stop moving in the Virtual Realm, your body will think you’re dead and you’ll die on the spot.
“I’ve heard that the safest thing to do on your first trip into the Virtual Realm is to head towards the shallowest part of the white mist,” Sonya said.
This wasn’t so much a guide as a little tip summarized by the senior Sorcerers at Swordflower College, and even then, it had a success rate of less than 60%. The other 40% who followed this advice encountered danger.
But in this completely unknown ocean, a 60% chance was already worth taking a gamble on.
“No, we’re going over there.”
Ashe pointed towards the thickest part of the white mist, where the view was completely obscured, giving off a sense of fear. Sonya wanted to say something else, but to her surprise, the boat began to move on its own, and she quickly shifted her attention: “Can you control this boat? Did you bring this boat here?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you tricked me into jumping into the sea just now!?”
Seeing Sonya grip her wooden sword tightly again, Ashe quickly explained: “I only just found out that I can control the boat. When I told you to jump into the sea, I meant it!”
“You meant to watch me make a fool of myself?”
“I meant… I wanted to see you… Hey, calm down, we’re entering an unknown area, and danger could strike at any moment!”
As the white mist enveloped them, and the unknown could appear at any time, Sonya had no choice but to sit down, albeit grudgingly.
However, as they passed through layer upon layer of white mist, Sonya felt something flowing into her body, her consciousness becoming clearer, her skin glowing with a Silver hue, and her mind suddenly filled with a vast amount of knowledge about Swordsmanship.
This is why Sorcerers must explore the Virtual Realm—to automatically gain knowledge within the Virtual Realm just by moving and to condense their own knowledge into Silver Arcane Energy!
When a large amount of Silver Arcane Energy accumulates and solidifies, it forms the symbol of a Sorcerer’s strength: Silver Wings!
Sonya suddenly understood why Sorcerers loved immersing themselves in the Virtual Realm.
The feeling of gaining knowledge every second and growing stronger every moment was as comfortable as stretching in the early morning.
While Sonya was enjoying the pleasure of gaining knowledge, Ashe was acting like a student who’s up to mischief during class, constantly staring at the Holographic Screen’s map.
In the center of the map was a small boat, surrounded by eight squares; the boat was currently entering the top-left square.
Indeed, this was the “Exploration in Virtual Realm” mode provided by the game. When Ashe moved the little boat in the game, the boat in the Virtual Realm moved accordingly.
Apart from moving, Ashe could also check the information of those eight squares:
“Waste of effort,” “Seeking death,” “Waste of effort,” “Waste of effort,” “Waste of effort,” “Worth a visit,” “A bit troublesome,” “Better not go.”
Among the eight prompts, “Waste of effort” clearly meant that there was nothing in the grid. “Seeking death” indicated danger, “Better not go” was something Ashe couldn’t figure out, and “Worth a visit” was obviously a hint provided by the game.
Soon after passing through layers of white mist, a small island shrouded in thick fog appeared before them.
Seeing this scene, Sonya suddenly remembered the place where the Observer had taken her for the Dream Trial. Wasn’t it identical to the Virtual Realm?
No wonder the Observer was so confident; he could use the Virtual Realm for Trials, so exploring the Virtual Realm was naturally easy for him!
The boat slowed to a stop, and the moment the two set foot on the island, the dense fog suddenly dispersed, revealing a Hunter wearing a wide-brimmed hat and carrying a long gun.
“Seven steps away, the gun is fast.”
The Hunter lifted the gun and aimed at them: “Within seven steps, the gun is both accurate and fast!”
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