Standing before the nine sorcery spirits he had harvested, Ash couldn't help but break into an impromptu workout routine to vent his bubbling excitement.
Last night's Virtual Realm exploration had yielded an incredible haul of 12 sorcery spirits!
Of those, three were valuable enough to fetch a high price and had been claimed by Sonia, but even so, Ash's portion of the loot far surpassed his expectations. It was almost as much as their total gains from the past several days combined!
To top it off, they had acquired two experience orbs, making this expedition one for the record books. Ash was certain that unless he stumbled upon some sort of treasure-hunting miracle in the future, it would be almost impossible to replicate the sheer success of last night until he fully manifested his White-Silver Wings.
This experience reinforced a principle Ash had learned during his mundane working days:
Working hard doesn't pay. Slacking off beats working. But exploiting others is better than slacking. And if you can steal someone's gains? Jackpot.
When their Virtual Map first detected the presence of a wild sorcerer nearby, their instinctual reaction was to steer clear. Not because of some noble aversion to robbing strangers, but because Ash was convinced they'd get crushed if they tried to fight.
Ash knew their limits all too well. Both Sonia and himself were over-leveled frauds, their rapid ascension achieved through unnatural means. They lacked fully developed combat systems and had barely any miracles at their disposal.
Sonia was slightly better off thanks to her natural talent. With time, she could catch up. But Ash? He was nothing more than a tag-along, a glorified accessory. Beyond summoning a decoy and flailing weakly, he was essentially the weakest combat sorcerer of his rank.
Beating up low-level Knowledge Beasts and bullying projections on inheritance islands was about the best they could manage. Even those encounters left them drained, often depleting their sorcery power completely.
The wild sorcerer, on the other hand, was a completely different story.
If they were in the same region of the map, it meant this sorcerer had also manifested at least half their White-Silver Wings.
This person had probably been exploring the Virtual Realm for at least a month, if not six months or more.
Time in the Virtual Realm meant growth—combat skills, miracles mastered, and refined systems. Ash and Sonia were like players who'd hacked their way to max level but skipped all the quests and tutorials. The wild sorcerer, by comparison, was a seasoned veteran.
It wasn't worth gambling on the off chance that this sorcerer wasn't a fighter. Ash's real body was still stuck in a prison cell, and if he or Sonia were to die in the Virtual Realm, there would be no reset button. They'd have to face the Blood Moon's judgment with nothing to show for their efforts.
So, when it seemed like the wild sorcerer was moving toward them, Ash immediately steered their boat away.
Thanks to the thick fog, the other sorcerer couldn't detect them. But just then, Sonia leaned in, biting Ash's ear mischievously, and proposed a devilish idea.
"Wow, that's downright evil," Ash said with a grin. "But I love it."
"Don't act like you're a saint," Sonia teased back.
And so, the duo carefully maneuvered their boat ahead of the wild sorcerer, pinpointing a "Somewhat Tricky" zone on the Virtual Map—a region likely home to a powerful Knowledge Beast.
They baited the wild sorcerer toward it by tossing pebbles to create noise and watched as their unwitting victim took the bait.
As expected, the sorcerer ended up fighting a ferocious Knowledge Beast. Soon after, the yellow "Somewhat Tricky" zone on the map shifted to a green "Loot Ready" zone as the beast retreated, weakened and ripe for the taking.
Ash and Sonia had positioned their boat along the beast's escape route.
Predicting where a Knowledge Beast would flee was surprisingly straightforward. Unlike sorcerers, Knowledge Beasts had an intimate understanding of their territory. They never ran toward danger, only toward safe zones.
By using the Virtual Map to rule out pathways leading to "Worth Exploring" or "Somewhat Tricky" zones, Ash could pinpoint the likeliest escape route. Even if the beast deviated slightly, the map allowed for quick course corrections, ensuring they always intercepted their prey.
With this tactic, Ash and Sonia baited the wild sorcerer into fighting four separate Knowledge Beasts while they reaped the spoils. The weakened beasts stood no chance against their ambushes, leading to five successful kills, 12 sorcery spirits, and two experience orbs.
One of the sorcery spirits, in particular, caught Ash's eye—it was the final piece he needed for a powerful miracle.
The spirit was a small, rotating orb of water with tiny wings made of liquid. It trembled adorably in his palm.
[Flow]
Type: One-Winged Sorcery Spirit
Restriction: The target must contain water within their body.
Base Effect: Transfers all effects (instant damage, continuous effects) from the first target to a second target. Transfer speed varies with distance.
Passive Effect: When the sorcerer contains liquid in their body, physical impact is reduced.
"Water flows downward."
With [Flow], along with [Decoy] and [Heart Sword], Ash had finally gathered all the components required to perform the miracle "Sever the Self."
Now, he just needed to master these sorcery spirits and reach a level where he could resonate with the Virtual Realm even within the prison's power-restricting constraints.
After tucking away [Flow], Ash turned to the remaining eight sorcery spirits. He opened the Aurora Sorcerer's Handbook and charged all of them into the system.
1 spirit = 8 points.
8 spirits = 64 points.
Combined with his existing balance of 40 points, Ash now had a whopping 104 points—enough to purchase the coveted "Pile of Source Crystals."
Purchase successful!
Obtained: 20 Source Crystals.
Triggered the First Purchase Bonus!
Obtained: 40 additional Source Crystals!
Adding the 4 Source Crystals he had accumulated from daily logins, Ash now had a grand total of 44 Source Crystals—enough for 14 draws.
"My turn. Time to draw some cards!" Ash exclaimed, cracking his knuckles.