Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 530: Choking Green

“What lies in the darkness outside?”

With the light sneaking through the window, Ashe and the others could roughly discern that this place seemed to be a junk warehouse. Though dubbed as ‘junk’, the items within were far from worthless – peculiar parts of Dawn Powder, brilliant gold-black panels, and even a dust-covered yet remarkable Snow White engine. Undoubtedly, this warehouse housed the fragmented, sweet souls of the old era; they were the essence of wisdom, the details of civilization, greatness in the trivial.

But now they could only be piled up in this cold earth house haphazardly created by Earth spells, serving as seats for Ashe and his companions, quietly awaiting the erosion of time.

Faced with Igor’s question, Raven didn’t immediately answer and instead asked in return, “In your Kingdom, can people walk into the night at will?”

“Not just in our Kingdom, in the vast majority of Kingdoms, the night is merely an ordinary change in lighting; darkness itself isn’t something to be feared.”

“How do you know about the situation in other Kingdoms?”

“Because I’ve read quite a few Sorcerer’s Handbooks,” Igor replied with great certainty. “Though I haven’t read a lot, if darkness were prevalent, the likelihood of it being mentioned in the Sorcerer’s Handbooks should be high. Yet, I’ve never seen a single handbook mention such a thing.”

Ashe felt a bit puzzled. Igor’s words sounded reasonable at first, but in reality, they were quite illogical – he himself had read numerous Sorcerer’s Handbooks, yet never encountered any that mentioned the Bloodline Prohibition Law of the Blood Moon or the Gospel Ranking of the Gospel. To the residents of each Kingdom, the familiar things are not worth noting in a handbook of spells, just like nobody would boast about sunlight, peace, air, and sustenance – things they have never lacked, and thus never learned to cherish.

However, he glanced at Igor who was leaning toward Raven and understood immediately that the Con Artist was getting into his element – he remembered Igor mentioning that knowledge is a Con Artist’s best protective color, confidence their sharpest dagger.

Because people subconsciously follow authority, most lack the ability for independent thought. Although there are more clever individuals among sorcerers, laziness is a human trait. When they encounter someone whose wisdom appears far superior to their own (even if it’s an illusion), they develop a reliance, much like children waiting to be picked up from kindergarten.

Ashe and Harvey are prime examples. Most plans are devised by Igor now, and if Igor wanted to deceive them, it wouldn’t be much harder than cooking a Lala Fatty dish.

However, Harvey isn’t exactly following Igor. He’s more like a fallen leaf on the ground, lifted by the winds of Ashe and Igor. Whenever he lands again, that’s when his journey would end. Ashe, on the other hand, simply entrusts his mind and back to the Con Artist.

This Raven seems to be a close combat sorcerer, most likely a physical sorcerer. Although there’s no large-scale data analysis, it’s generally believed that martial sorcerers find it more challenging to read the Sorcerer’s Handbook compared to academic sorcerers.

Martial spellcasting includes Swordsmanship, Fist-Claw, and physical spellcasting, which relate to the body. Martial sorcerers are not unintelligent, but since they spend a lot of time honing their craft, they read less frequently and their views tend to be straightforward, often uncompromising. For instance, swordsmanship sorcerers typically don’t let a grudge last overnight.

Academic spellcasting requires reading extensive academic materials. Academic sorcerers have a high reading volume, leading to more complex perspectives and more flexible moral boundaries, thus having a potentially broader reading range than martial sorcerers.

Of course, these are just general impressions. In this world, you have witches who can compartmentalize their personalities for reading handbooks, so other sorcerers might have methods to temporarily alter their personal biases as well.

“Sorcerer’s Handbook?” Raven was slightly taken aback, nodding thoughtfully. “Oh right, you can gain knowledge from other Kingdoms in the Virtual Realm…”

He was actually bluffed. It seems this is indeed a less-read physical sorcerer.

Raven paused and then said, “In the darkness of your Kingdom, there might truly be nothing. But in the night of this land, there is a color that can turn people into monsters – Choking Green.” ℞αℕỒ฿Ě𝘚

The three were slightly stunned: “Turns people into monsters?”

Raven nodded. “Ordinary people tend to transform into various bizarre green monsters with extreme aggression. They gain a super-regenerative ability in sunlight, but they’re not difficult for sorcerers to deal with. The real trouble comes from those sorcerers who turn into monsters – Choking Green creatures like the Blade Fish Dragon, Foxlamp Dragon, and Raging Slashing Dragon.”

“Aren’t virtual realm creatures easy to handle?” Ashe said with a yawn, “It’s not like you’re in the Virtual Realm; you can team up in reality.”

“Do creatures in the Virtual Realm not form teams?” Raven calmly countered.

Igor’s pupils shrank. “Are you saying-“

“Choking Green creatures tend to gather and attack human camps. Some small cults have even been wiped out because of this,” Raven explained. “However, whenever signs of Choking Green gathering appear, it attracts the attention of larger cults who sweep in to exterminate the threat. Otherwise, these Choking Green creatures might even form a civilization. We refer to a gathering of these creatures as the ‘Green Calamity.’ Currently, there are several Green Calamities roaming the wilds of the Land of Senlo, beyond the reach of any cult.”

“Can’t you use Mental or Dominance Sects to control these Choking Green creatures?” Ashe asked curiously. “Aren’t they a perfect subject for study? Maybe they could even be cured.”

“I’ve heard that someone tried,” Raven replied lightly. “The result was that the sorcerer also turned into a Choking Green creature. There’s a theory that these creatures are already tainted, and any link a sorcerer forms with them spreads the contamination.”

“So, never step into an unlit night. Choking Green will turn anyone into a monster.”

Wouldn’t turning every ten steps into a streetlamp city fix this? Just as Ashe was thinking this, Igor confidently stated, “Light alone can’t dispel the darkness of the night. What protects this camp is something else, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Raven replied. “Ideals, faith, the future, hope… They go by many names but take the same form to protect people – the Demi-God.”

“The Demi-God can protect people from the darkness, and those who follow it receive its protection. Losing the Demi-God means losing hope, losing life, losing everything.”

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Ashe suddenly recalled the Inferno of Tribulations Demi-God disciples who lost their will to fight after it was taken from them earlier that afternoon.

“But the Four Pillars aren’t the Demi-God, right? They don’t belong in the same category as reason or hope,” Harvey said while rubbing his eyes and leaning on Alice. He pointed out a flaw, “So how do the Four Pillars protect the camp?”

Before Raven could answer, Igor figured it out. “Desire?”