If it hurts enough, grip with both hands,
Cut it open, let yesterday's curse expand.
Through endless night and day it flows,
Leaving behind only scars that show.
Iger yawned as he got out of bed and, as usual, headed straight for a bath. He had barely stripped and lowered himself into the tub when the doorbell rang persistently.
Frowning, he wrapped a towel around his waist and went to answer the door. Ashe stood outside. He said, "Let's play rock-paper-scissors."
"What?"
"Don't ask. Just play. You have to beat three tis."
Iger stared at him. "Is this so kind of ritual?"
"Yes."
"Will it harm ?"
"No."
Iger studied Ashe for a mont. He did not seem to be lying, so Iger said calmly, "Then I refuse."
"Why?"
"Helping you is kindness. Not helping you is common sense. Why should I go out of my way to complete your ritual?"
"Do you really need a reason to help soone?"
"You are not exactly in a position to say that. And do I look like I run a charity?"
Ashe fell silent for a mont. Then he said, "Do you know why sorcerers can't drink water right after it's been boiled? Why do you have to wait before drinking it?"
Iger froze. "Why?"
"Help finish the ritual, and I'll tell you."
Could freshly boiled water contain trace toxins harmful to mana? Or is boiled water itself part of so ritual that, if interfered with, might bring bad consequences?
In the sorcerers' world, everything had its aning. Even the most trivial actions could be taboos refined over centuries, just like chanting prayers for the dead, which reduced lingering death energy on the body.
With that thought, Iger's curiosity got the better of him.
He agreed.
As expected, he won three rounds without effort. For soone with a certain degree of mind-reading ability, Ashe's intentions were practically written on his face.
"Thanks, Iger!"
"What kind of ritual requires soone else to beat you three tis at rock-paper-scissors?"
"It's called the Blade Preparation Ritual. I lose to you now, so my luck turns around later. Alright, see you."
"Wait. You still haven't told why sorcerers can't drink freshly boiled water."
"Because it burns your tongue."
Iger stood there, dumbfounded, as Ashe walked away.
He closed the door, returned to the bathroom, and sank back into the tub. Staring at the ceiling, he rubbed his temples. "Have I been spending too much ti with him lately? Is it starting to affect my intelligence?"
After finishing his bath and brushing his teeth, Iger unexpectedly triggered the Revelation spirit. The toothpaste foam splattered across the mirror and ford a single line of text, "Do not attempt to drink freshly boiled water."
"Who would even try that!?"
***
With the Blade Preparation Ritual complete, Ashe returned to his cell.
[Confirm consuming 30 Source Crystals for ten recruitnts? You may manually increase the number of recruitnts; more recruitnts increase the chance of obtaining rare resources!]
[Confirm consuming 42 Source Crystals for fourteen recruitnts?]
[Confirm!]
Whoosh!
The interface remained as straightforward as ever. Eight white lights, four purple lights, and... two golden lights appeared on the screen.
The eight white lights consisted of a Basic Combat Card, four Energy Potions, and three EXP Potions. The EXP Potions were useful. They could stack and boost experience gains by up to 50%. The Energy Potions, however, could only be used on each operator once a week, so drawing so many felt like the system's way of cluttering the card pool.
Ashe's eyes lit up at the four purple lights. They contained three Spirit Joy Potions and one Honeyed Tongue Sword.
[Spirit Joy Potion ×3]
Description
- Increases a spirit's affection toward an operator, accelerating the operator's mastery of that spirit. Lasts one week and cannot stack.
[Honeyed Tongue Sword]
Description
- A sword concealed beneath the tongue in a honey-like form. Press with the tongue to transform it into a real sword. Can bypass any security checks and is upgradeable.
The Spirit Joy Potion was exactly what Ashe needed. He had just acquired the Swordheart and Flow spirits, but he couldn't yet control them proficiently within the Virtual World, let alone resonate with them in reality.
Its effect, however, was unusual. It increased a spirit's affection for its operator. Ashe couldn't help but wonder. Does this an the potion can actually make a spirit... aroused?
Ashe didn't need the Honeyed Tongue Sword for the mont, but after the upcoming prison break, a weapon would be essential. From what he had seen at Shattered Lake Prison, the outside world was full of obstacles for escapees. Security checkpoints and surveillance would be everywhere. In such a situation, a weapon like the Honeyed Tongue Sword, capable of bypassing inspections, would be practically indispensable for anyone planning a jailbreak.
With that, Ashe turned his attention to the remaining two golden lights.
[Alchemist's Refining Flask]
Description
- Combine two identical potions for a 30% chance to refine them into a more powerful advanced potion, a 30% chance to mutate them into another rare potion, and a 40% chance of failure, losing both potions.
Ashe perked up. With the refining flask, he could recycle or even remake the potions cluttering the card pool. There was so risk of loss, but it was worth it. He could treat it like buying a lottery ticket.
[Random Spirit Summoning Card]
Description
- When used on an operator, the card initiates a summoning ritual that calls forth a rare spirit matching the operator's current level. At the sa ti, it raises the operator's corresponding sorcery class to that sa tier. The ritual's conditions and duration vary depending on the spirit, but it will never take more than seven days to complete.
At first glance, the gold card seed underwhelming. It summoned only one spirit, while Ashe could already gather twelve in a single night.
But on closer inspection, he realized the key lay in the phrase "current level."
After learning about the world for so ti, he understood that sorcerers were divided into four main tiers, naly One-Winged Silver, Two-Winged Gold, Three-Winged Sacred Realm, and Four-Winged Legendary. If the Swordswoman ascended to Two-Winged and he used this card on her, she would summon a Two-Winged spirit. The higher the number of wings, the stronger the spirit.
However, for a sorcerer to summon a spirit of that tier, the progress of their sorcery class had to et the corresponding threshold. Without Gold Rank mastery, she wouldn't be able to summon a Two-Winged spirit of that class, and the sa rule applied at higher tiers.
Thus, the true power of this card was that it elevated an operator's chosen sorcery class to their current Virtual Wing level and granted a spirit of the sa rank.
For a One-Winged sorcerer, it was essentially an Experience Orb plus a spirit. But for Two-, Three-, or Four-Winged sorcerers, the card was terrifying. In just seven days, it could allow soone to master a previously unknown sorcery class from scratch.
Reason told Ashe that the later he used the card, the more valuable it would beco. However, the current situation left him no room to hoard it. In preparation for the upcoming jailbreak, he had to convert every possible resource into combat power. If he fell short and the plan failed, he might regret it so deeply that he would wish to beco Ronna's al himself.
He started with the refining flask. Ashe had seven Energy Potions and four EXP Potions. After pairing and refining them, he obtained two Advanced Energy Potions and one Advanced EXP Potion.
[Advanced Energy Potion]
Description
- Grants an operator one advanced action point during training for seven days. Advanced action points reduce stamina consumption, improve positive feedback, slowly boost mood, and have a small chance to increase bonds.
[Advanced EXP Potion]
Description
- Increases skill experience gained by 50% for seven days, up to 100% per operator.
It could have ended there, but Ashe added two Spirit Joy Potions to the mix. If the refinent failed, he would still have one left. And if it succeeded...
[Spirit Exhilaration Potion]
Description
- Greatly increases a spirit's affection for an operator and significantly accelerates the operator's mastery of the spirit. Lasts one week and cannot stack.
The potion's na is starting to sound more and more like an aphrodisiac...
Ashe opened Operator Managent, and a notification imdiately popped up.
[Death Maniac Swordswoman's training has concluded. Please review the progress report and set this week's training plan.]
[Death Maniac Swordswoman Progress Report (4.12–4.18)]
Sword Class: 0 → Silver
Light Class: 0 → Silver
Water Class: Not Yet Unlocked → Silver
Mana: 0 → Half Silver Wing
Training Evaluation: A!
[Because she earned an A rating, Death Maniac Swordswoman received a profession upgrade from the Sorcerer's Handbook: One-Winged Swordmaster → Silver Executioner Sorcerer.]
[Silver Executioner Sorcerer]
Profession Trait
- Each successful attack restores 0.5% of maximum mana.
Ashe had not expected a rating system after the training plan concluded, let alone one that granted profession upgrades for high performance.
The reward did not affect him directly, but a stronger Swordswoman ant higher efficiency during their Virtual World explorations. On top of that, the Silver Executioner Sorcerer trait was genuinely practical.
Her Water Class had progressed to Silver thanks to the Swordsmanship and Water Experience Orbs obtained the night before. Since they shared a bond, Ashe naturally handed both orbs to her. She seed visibly moved as she accepted them in the Virtual World. Ashe could almost hear the system prompt in his mind, Death Maniac Swordswoman's bond with you has deepened.
He then opened the Training Strategy panel.
Death Maniac Swordswoman
Current Mood
- 6 (Experience Bonus: 0)
Selectable Actions
1. Rest
2. Entertainnt
3. Training
4. Combat
Recomndation
- The Swordswoman has not rested for an entire week. Appropriate entertainnt can improve mood and lead to more effective training through balance.
Ashe hesitated. She had complained more than once about never having ti to rest. Considering how much she had helped him in the Virtual World, letting her relax felt only fair.
Bang. Bang.
Just then, Iger's voice rang out from outside, "Ashe, co out! We need to find the last team mber today!"
Ashe imdiately snapped back to reality. If I cannot afford to rest, how could I allow her to take a break? I will not accept your suggestion!
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