The Sorcerer's Handbook

The night, filled with thrilling twists and perilous adventure, had finally come to an end.

As Sonya’s consciousness returned from the Virtual World, her soul within her body reawakened. She opened her eyes and looked around the small meditation room. A strange sense of familiarity washed over her. It felt as though it had been a lifetime since she last returned to the real world.

Of course, that was the refined way to put it. To be blunt, Sonya felt as if she had taken a long nap. When she woke, the sky appeared faintly blue, and she couldn’t tell whether it was dawn or dusk. The world was shrouded in an ambiguous, dreamlike haze.

As she stepped out of the Meditation Tower, she was met by the light of three luminaries flickering through the drifting dust and the soft echo of pure, golden notes. In that moment, her Virtual World Syndrome finally faded.

Virtual World Syndrome was a condition that typically appeared only among Sacred Realm sorcerers. It occurred when a sorcerer spent more time in the Virtual World than in reality, causing their perception of the physical and the illusory to overlap. Over time, they would begin to confuse the two. In severe cases, they might even mistake real people for monsters to be hunted.

The cure was straightforward. The sorcerer simply had to spend less time in the Virtual World.

That was why universities established Meditation Towers. On one hand, these places aided sorcerers in exploring the Virtual World. On the other, they allowed institutions to track how long each sorcerer stayed inside. If a sorcerer approached the danger threshold, the university would intervene by forcing them into blind dates, outings, or balls as a reminder that reality was far harsher than the Virtual World.

For someone like Sonya, whose symptoms were mild, a bit of sunlight was enough.

In truth, this exploration hadn’t lasted longer than previous ones. Yet the experience in the Amnesia Cabin felt like a dollop of cream forcefully stuffed into the simple slice of bread that was Sonya’s life. The bread remained bread, but with that added cream, it now showed signs of becoming a sandwich. Now that she thought back on what had happened in the cabin, it felt like a vivid yet distant dream. It was so fragile it felt as though it would burst at the slightest touch.

Sonya returned to the dorm in a daze. As she opened the door, she bumped into Angelica, who just happened to be heading out for morning exercise. Caught off guard, Sonya actually lost the collision and fell straight onto the floor.

This wasn’t the Virtual World. Concrete hurt.

Watching the Claw-Stretching Club President clutch her injured spot and rub it pitifully, Angelica couldn’t help but laugh. She reached out and pulled her up. ”Is this the first time I’ve actually managed to hurt you?”

Not much needed to be said about Sonya’s combat talent. What amazed people most was her almost instinctive perception. It was as though she possessed an inner eye that saw through everything. Regardless of whether she could see or not, she would always detect incoming attacks. Unless an opponent overwhelmed her in speed or strength, she could always rely on her extraordinary awareness and reflexes to neutralize an ambush. After sparring with her so many times, Angelica had never defeated Sonya. She couldn’t even land a scratch.

Aside from combat, Sonya remained highly vigilant in her daily life. Her relationship with her roommates had only improved recently. Just a month ago, they had been at odds like fire and water. Louisa had long since stopped using petty tricks like thumbtacks or soaking Sonya’s clothes. She had tried that the previous semester, only for Sonya to turn it into a public scandal. Combined with Sonya’s top-tier academic performance, the university had punished Louisa harshly.

Still, Louisa never stopped her backroom scheming, looking for chances to embarrass her. In theory, Louisa held the advantage in wealth and connections. She should have been able to suppress Sonya and establish dominance in the dorm. But somehow, Sonya always came out on top. Louisa often ended up hiding in the bathroom, anonymously posting on forums for advice, only to be mocked again when the Claw-Stretching Club President replied.

Back then, Sonya hadn’t even shown her talent for swordsmanship. She had been just an ordinary, hardworking village girl. Yet, she repeatedly used the rules to suppress a local elite, thanks to her near-miraculous instinct.

Seeing Sonya almost as absent-minded as Adele was a first for Angelica.

Sonya didn’t seem to hear the teasing. She returned to her seat and sat down. She neither read nor browsed the forums. Instead, she simply crossed her legs and stared blankly at the wall covered in Didarose posters.

By then, Louisa had already woken and started reading. Seeing Sonya return without a greeting, she silently noted it. Next time, she wouldn’t greet the village girl either.

Before long, Adele’s alarm rang. The Swordswoman’s biggest fan yawned, got out of bed, and washed up, taking a hot shower to wake herself before returning to her seat to dry her hair. She went through her usual skincare routine and applied a light layer of makeup.

Aside from Angelica, Adele spent the least effort on her appearance, but she had the luxury to do so. She ate well, stayed up late watching shows, and spent her days lounging in bed, barely using her muscles for anything besides going to the toilet. Yet, she still maintained the look of a rich beauty with skin as smooth as vanilla ice cream.

It was only when compared to Sonya and Louisa that Adele seemed ordinary. If placed among the entire Water Sorcery Department... well, she would still seem ordinary. The Sword and Roses University Water Sorcery Department was famous for its beauties.

Others had to rely on makeup and sleep just to keep up, but Adele’s natural gifts set her apart. If she ever put in serious effort, then even if she couldn’t surpass Sonya and Louisa—the two giants in their own ”arms race”—she could at least secure a spot as the unofficial fifth among the Four Great Beauties of Sword and Roses.

”Do we have history class today?”

”Yeah. It’s the last unit of the semester. We’ll be covering the aristocratic system of the Star Nobility and the birth of the Nobility Act.”

”That’s so annoying! I hate history. As long as the toilet works, why do we need to learn how it was invented?”

”That statement is unexpectedly politically insightful.”

Once Adele finished getting ready, she noticed Sonya still sitting there in a daze. She nudged her. ”Class is starting! Or are you going to use your privilege as the top student and skip again?”

Louisa said calmly, ”It isn’t skipping when the top student does it. How could the top student ever be wrong? She must have submitted a request that the professor misplaced. If he notices she’s not there, he shall probably just write a new one himself to save her the trouble.”

Adele gritted her teeth. ”Damn, is this the power of standing at the top of the academy? How do I make the professors realize I’m Sonya’s loyal follower? Offending me means offending the top student, Sonya!”

Sonya snapped out of her daze. ”Ah, is class starting?”

She grabbed a bag at random and headed out with it. However, her roommates didn’t budge. Sonya looked at them, confused. ”Why aren’t you moving?”

Adele pointed at the sword bag in Sonya’s hand. ”Are you planning to smash the history professor’s head so he can’t check your homework? If so, Sonya, you’re my savior!”

Realizing she had grabbed the wrong bag, Sonya hurriedly swapped it for her schoolbag.

They left the dormitory. Along the way, Louisa kept glancing sideways at Sonya. Before long, even Adele picked up on something being off. ”My dear Scarlet Swordswoman, isn’t your ’no-makeup’ look today... a bit too literal?”

Adele nudged Louisa toward Sonya and pulled out a small mirror to compare them.

At a glance, Sonya and Louisa looked similar. They were both naturally beautiful girls with seemingly minimal makeup. But a closer look revealed the gulf between them.

Louisa had used a primer to give her lips a soft, glossy tint, while Sonya’s were merely their natural shade. Louisa’s lashes were curled and set, giving her eyes depth, while Sonya’s remained loose. Louisa’s skin, enhanced with a light cream, looked luminous. By contrast, Sonya’s lacked that subtle glow. Louisa had even carefully dotted a beauty mark at the corner of her eye to complete the delicate natural aesthetic. Sonya, on the other hand, had done nothing at all.

Beyond the obvious, finer details such as pore refinement made the gap undeniable. Everything pointed to the same shocking conclusion that Sonya had left the room completely bare-faced.

For Sonya, this was almost unimaginable. Both she and Louisa believed that going out without makeup was no different from going out naked. They would rather skip class than be seen without maintaining a perfect appearance. At times, Sonya would even pretend to rush into class in a flustered, sleepy state to appear effortlessly beautiful, when in truth, that look took half an hour of meticulous work. Compared to that, Adele’s five-minute quick-fix makeup always left obvious traces.

Adele guessed, ”Is there no one left in this university you care about?”

Louisa, being more perceptive, asked, ”Did something happen in the Virtual World?”

She realized Sonya had been acting strangely since her return. ”If you’re in a bad mood, you don’t have to go to class.”

Sonya shook her head. She said nothing and didn’t turn back, instead walking straight toward the classroom. Her roommates exchanged a worried glance and flanked her on either side.

The history lecture was a large class held in a tiered hall. The three of them took seats in a back corner. Suddenly, a mocking voice drifted from nearby. ”Why does it smell like mud back here? Let’s sit somewhere else.”

A few well-dressed noble students at the next table picked up their books to move. They didn’t address Sonya directly, but the disdain in their eyes was unmistakable. While the university strictly punished direct bullying, this kind of veiled sarcasm fell outside the rules. Sonya’s background was no secret. Those who couldn’t touch her grades targeted what she couldn’t change.

Adele could already imagine Sonya’s typical biting retorts, like ”It does smell awful. Who sprayed manure this early?” or ”With a nose like that, you’d make a great police dog.” In online arguments, Sonya was a force of nature. She could take on a thousand detractors alone until they were left cursing in futility.

However, Sonya didn’t respond. She didn’t even look up. Instead, she simply walked over and sat in the very seats the noble students had just vacated. Seeing them still standing nearby, she gave a slight, polite nod.

”Thank you,” she said softly.

It looked as if they had given up their seats for her on purpose.

That calm indifference left the noble students flushing red, then turning pale. They pointed at her, speechless, and eventually fled in embarrassment like stray dogs under the amused gazes of the other students.

Soon, the school forums would likely buzz with rumors that the noble students had ”offered” their seats to the Scarlet Swordswoman. Everyone would think Sonya had reached a level where she was above arguing with ”trash,” yet could still force them to bow without lifting a hand.

However, Louisa and Adele knew the truth. Sonya hadn’t heard the taunts at all. She was simply lost in her own world.

The two girls exchanged a look of pure curiosity. What could possibly occupy Sonya’s mind so completely that she couldn’t spare even a sliver of attention for reality?

***

Aren’t we lovers?

We should break up.

Since we’ve both lost our memories, it’s the perfect time to rebuild our relationship from scratch.

What a coincidence. I’ve always had a soft spot for bad men.

So, you don’t want to get back together?

A storm raged through Sonya’s night. Countless fragments of memory fell like a barrage of bullets, striking the sea of her heart and sending ripples across its surface. Every surge reflected the coy, affected charm she had displayed last night. Every splash carried delicate emotions of half-affection and half-anger flickering in her eyes.

Why did I say things like that to the Watcher after losing my memory?! Ahhh! I want to die! I want to be buried under a pile of Gold Coins! I want the Watcher to trip right now, crack his head open, and die!

The young woman burned with embarrassment.