The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 110: We’ll Have a Fallout Right Now!

Sonya murmured, ”I remember now. This is a Destiny Quiz.”

”A Destiny Quiz?”

She nodded. ”Yes. It’s an extremely rare mechanism in the Virtual World, and it comes in many forms. The one we’ve encountered is the simplest paper-based Q&A. If you answer correctly, you can ask the Virtual World any question, and it’s compelled to answer.”

Ashe’s eyes widened. ”Anything? So if I asked how to become immortal and invincible, would it answer me, too?”

Sonya nodded firmly. ”Yes! But the quality of the answer depends on how many questions you’ve answered correctly. The more you get right, the more detailed the response.

”Honestly, compared to the reward of asking the Virtual World questions, most sorcerers actually value the Destiny Quiz itself more. Its questions are always about the sorcerer’s future.”

”The future?”

”Yes. The questions concern events the sorcerer hasn’t experienced yet. They can’t possibly know the correct answer and can only make guesses based on what’s happened so far,” Sonya explained softly, her eyes fixed on the paper. ”It’s said that any future mentioned in a Destiny Quiz inevitably comes to pass.”

Ashe whistled low. ”So... what’s your question?”

Sonya’s pupils dilated slightly, and she replied nonchalantly, ”I’m not telling you.”

Ashe pressed. ”Why not? Wouldn’t it be easier if we worked together?”

”Oh, you’re so gross. Stop prying into a girl’s privacy,” she teased, feigning disgust.

Watching her deliberately shielding the paper, Ashe muttered, ”Privacy? What privacy could a sorcerer possibly have...”

At first, he thought she was shy, but something felt off. When it came to matters of power and future prospects, the Swordswoman had never hesitated. She could be temperamental at times, but she was an excellent teammate and had never held him back during Virtual World exploration. She acted decisively whenever her contribution was needed.

A Destiny Quiz was undeniably a rare opportunity. Could the Swordswoman really refuse to cooperate out of mere shyness and risk a wrong answer instead of discussing it with him? No matter how Ashe thought about it, it seemed impossible.

This was the same Swordswoman who had once told him, ”You may not have dreams, but you can protect mine.” Her ambition had even earned recognition from the system, as evident in her Bond Resonance, ”Never Enough,” which exemplified her drive.

Besides, both Ashe and she were from two different worlds. That made them effectively strangers online. Even if Ashe knew her secrets, it wouldn’t affect her real life, so pretending to be innocent in front of him served no purpose.

A sudden thought struck Ashe like a laser through his mind. ”Your question... is it about me?”

Sonya froze.

She knew now was the perfect moment to deny it with a mix of humor, disdain, and feigned surprise. A quick, dismissive line like ”Stop prying into a girl’s privacy!” would have been enough to throw him off. A little deception and a little concealment are all it takes. Keep the upper hand, control the narrative, and nothing that threatens me will ever see the light of day.

But for some reason, the normally quick-witted Sonya hesitated for a split second. That brief pause shattered her chance to hide the truth. Perhaps it was the influence of the Sincerity spirit... She sighed inwardly. ”Yes.”

”I knew it.”

Sonya’s heart raced as she braced for Ashe’s next words.

After thinking it through, he asked, ”If it’s about us, and you don’t want to tell me... does that mean the paper is asking whether you’ve fallen in love with me?”

Sonya snapped. ”Ridiculous! You must have been awake too long if you’re dreaming with your eyes open!”

”The way you deny it so firmly... it just makes me suspicious. Hey, hey, hey, you’re disturbing my quiz! Put down your sword!” Ashe chided, then glanced at his own question. ”If you don’t want to tell me, fine. Don’t make it seem like I’m overly curious.”

”Aren’t you curious?”

”Of course I am. I’d love to trick you into handing over your paper, but since you won’t let me, I won’t risk offending you just for some so-called destiny.”

”When the destiny written above is likely to come true... don’t you want to know what will happen between us?”

”That’s a question for you to answer, not me,” Ashe said calmly. ”Are you willing to share your future with me?”

Sonya paused for a moment. She lifted the paper high enough to cover her mouth, then shook her head. ”I’m... still not really willing to tell.”

Ashe shrugged. ”Alright then.”

He lowered his head and returned to his own question. After a moment, he asked again, ”Are you sure? If not, I can ask again later.”

Sonya stifled a laugh and shot him an exasperated look. Her lips curved slightly, her eyelashes fluttered adorably, and her eyes shaped into perfect crescents. Her brows were so captivating that Ashe almost thought she had used some beautifying spirit.

”You’re so annoying. Fine, fine. I can’t guess the answer anyway, so I might as well discuss it with you.”

”You’ve actually been wanting to talk to me all along, haven’t you—”

”Listen to the question! This is a multiple-choice question! What is the fundamental reason for the fallout between the Swordswoman and the Watcher? Answer one: The Swordswoman hates the Watcher’s cold indifference. Answer two: The Watcher believes the Swordswoman cannot be controlled. Answer three: unequal division of spoils. And answer four: all of the above.”

Ashe’s interest piqued. ”You’re saying we’ll have a fallout in the future? Fallout... I’ve never really heard that word in real life before. Sounds like something out of a stage play.”

The harshest declaration of ending a friendship Ashe had ever heard was a childish ”I’m not playing with you anymore.” Words like fallout were usually reserved for major factions. Ordinary people didn’t have the authority to declare one. In everyday life, the term divorce made more sense.

”Tell me. Do you plan to control me, and if you find you can’t, will you resent me?”

”How could that be? Perhaps your impression of me is skewed. I hardly strike anyone as hot-blooded. As a mature adult, isn’t coldness commendable? How could you resent my indifference?”

”That’s why I don’t think it’s option one either. I lean toward option three—unequal division of spoils.”

”Are you suggesting the current loot system is flawed?”

”Not now. But after your escape, who knows? You might get greedy, and things could get complicated...”

”Pfft. All I see is your greed creeping in! I’ve had to tolerate you for the bigger picture, and when I can’t anymore, that’s when I’d break away from someone like you, who always takes more than their share!”

”You need to be fair with your words. From the very start, I’ve contributed the most in every battle. Every time, my output was the highest. Tsk, tsk, Watcher, your fox tail is showing. You’re planning to cut my share in the future, aren’t you!”

”Even if I adjust shares, it’s for a reason. I’m fair. I never stoop to petty tricks...”

”Who was it just now that said to start a prison riot if selected for the Blood Moon Tribunal? Who~ was~ it~?”

Despite discussing a serious future scenario, their tone remained playful, like arguing over game spoils after a match. Gradually, Sonya relaxed. She had worried that revealing her Destiny Quiz question might make the Watcher suspicious, but his calm attitude dissolved her fear. Many things worked that way. Once a person stopped treating something as a problem, it simply ceased to exist.

”Since options one, two, and three are all wrong, which one do you think is correct?” she asked, exasperated.

”I honestly don’t think there’s a correct answer. If I were to have a fallout with you, there would be another reason for it.”

”Another reason?”

”For example... You aren’t strong enough.”

Sonya froze. ”What do you mean?”

”I mean, you might not be able to keep up with my growth. And if I meet stronger teammates later, you’d naturally fall behind.”

In Ashe’s mind, that was the most reasonable explanation. The Swordswoman might be his only operator for now, but that didn’t mean she’d always be the only one. In a game, initial characters often lag behind late-game power spikes. Eventually, Ashe could recruit stronger operators, and naturally, the Swordswoman might no longer fit into his team.

Sonya shivered. Her hands and feet turned cold, and her shoulders trembled. ”So because I’m not strong enough, you’d abandon me?”

”Not abandon... just that, at that time, you might not match my level and could even hold me back. For the sake of both our futures, we’d need to part temporarily. It’s better for both of us—”

”No need to wait for the future. We’ll have a fallout right now!”

Ashe froze. ”Huh?”

Could the Destiny Quiz really be that accurate? Could it actually make this happen, right now?