The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 470: I Can’t Even Feel Your Body Temperature

”Regardless of whether the Garden’s capital falls to the Spider Tower or the Oasis, the Garden Legion must already be on edge and pulling back its forces,” Ashe analyzed. ”There’s no way they’d deploy commanders to secure Resource Points right now. This is our chance.”

His prediction proved spot-on. Navigating by the Garden’s map, Ashe swept through the Resource Points, finding each one still packed with abandoned garrison creatures and massive, untouched stockpiles of materials.

He also noticed an anomaly. The resource yield in the Garden region was double or even triple that of other territories. There were only two logical explanations. Either the Garden harvested at vastly longer intervals, allowing wealth to accumulate over time, or the colony creatures under its control gathered resources with two- to three-times greater efficiency, producing a massive surplus within the same window.

After raiding several sites, the evidence clearly pointed to the second possibility.

Compared to colony creatures elsewhere, the Garden’s denizens showed no obvious boost in raw combat power. However, their tactical awareness and coordination were in a league of their own. When Ashe’s group tried to lure them into narrow terrain for a textbook choke-point slaughter, the creatures simply holed up inside the mines and refused to take the bait. A few even glared at Ashe with unmistakable disdain, as if mocking him. ”Tricks like this? Is that the best you can do?”

The surprises didn’t stop there. Ashe soon realized the mines here were dizzyingly complex, their subterranean passages branching out in a labyrinthine web. A single misstep could leave them flanked and ambushed from all sides.

While victory was never truly in doubt, the danger here was manifold compared to ordinary Resource Points. They had the advantage of being a trio of sorcerers, capable of covering each other’s blind spots back-to-back. A lone sorcerer attempting to clear these sites would be swarmed from every direction, beaten into submission, or outright torn apart and devoured. Recovering from that level of soul damage would take at least half a year, assuming recovery was even possible.

Their closest brush with death occurred after they cleared the entrance enemies and ventured deep into a branching tunnel. The remaining colony creatures attempted to collapse the mine, aiming to bury them alive. If the Swordswoman hadn’t unleashed Blood Moon Shattered Lake to blast a path through the falling rubble, they might have met their ends right there.

These intricate tunnels were clearly artificial. Retracing their steps, they noticed distinct, deliberate claw marks carved into the stone walls.

Every sign pointed to a terrifying conclusion. The colony creatures of the Garden region possessed intelligence dangerously close to that of sorcerers. And if that intellect could be weaponized in battle, it could just as easily optimize production. It stood to reason that the Garden’s Resource Points outstripped all other regions.

”No wonder texts like Records of Golden Rain, The Second Secret Codex, and Under the White Ox all hypothesize about a Virtual World Civilization,” Sonya mused, cross-referencing her observations with academic lore. ”The authors must have suffered grievously at the hands of these Garden creatures to be so utterly convinced that Virtual World lifeforms possess the intellect to build civilizations.”

As she spoke, she fed Heartbroken Silver to her Killing Intent spirit. The spirit straddled both the Sword and Mind Classes in a roughly six-to-four ratio, making high-grade Mind Class materials like Heartbroken Silver exceptionally potent fuel for its growth.

The red-clad, twin-blade-wielding spirit suddenly let out a satisfied burp. A second blood-colored wing erupted from its back as its attire morphed, gaining a black-and-gold mantle. Its twin swords twisted into fiercer, wicked curved blades, and its form shifted from a brooding male into a delicate, sinister female.

”So, the Killing Intent has grown its second wing,” Sonya inspected her spirit and shook her head. ”It doesn’t look much like me, though. My gaze isn’t nearly that cold.”

Typically, any origin, humanoid spirit summoned by a sorcerer would match their master’s gender, barring a deeply distorted self-perception, and share some of their facial features. However, when an external spirit evolved under a sorcerer’s care, its appearance and gender would gradually realign with its master’s soul. If such a spirit changed hands between sorcerers of different genders over time, its sex could even shift back and forth.

Dia cheered. ”Congratulations, Swordswoman!”

”Congrats,” Ashe added.

”Thanks,” Sonya dismissed the Killing Intent spirit and offered a sharp smile. ”I’ve already harvested the essences I need, so I’ll head back to the car and wait for you two.”

Watching the Swordswoman depart, Ashe and Dia felt like adventurers who had just watched an apex predator drift off to sleep. The suffocating tension in the air finally dissipated, and both let out a heavy, synchronized sigh of relief. Their knees buckled slightly, forcing them to lean against the mine wall, lingering safely in the shadows.

Dia whispered, ”Watcher, what on earth has gotten into the Swordswoman? Do you have any idea?”

”I’ve only ever met her here in the Virtual World, same as you,” Ashe replied, his eyes darting away. ”I am just as clueless as you.”

Dia didn’t press the issue. While the Swordswoman’s aura had turned terrifying, her frigid hostility wasn’t directed squarely at the Watcher. Besides, as Ashe pointed out, their connection was confined to the Virtual World. If he had somehow enraged her, wouldn’t Dia have noticed the trigger? Surely he couldn’t have crossed her in the real world... right?

”Then do you have a way to fix this mood of hers?” she pressed.

”Not at the moment.”

”Well, I have a solution,” Dia declared, a sly glint in her eyes. ”But I’ll need your absolute cooperation.”

”Really?!” Ashe’s eyes lit up. He instinctively reached out to grab the Witch’s shoulders before checking himself. ”No problem! I’ll do whatever you say!”

Dia nodded solemnly. ”Good. Here’s the strategy. First, I will take the front passenger seat.”

”Mmhmm, mmhmm!”

”Then, you will sit in the back with the Swordswoman.”

”Mmhmm... wait, what?”

”Finally, we just endure until tonight’s exploration concludes. If she’s still radiating death tomorrow night, we repeat the arrangement.”

”Mm... wait, hold on??” Ashe was utterly dumbfounded. ”How is that a solution? That doesn’t fix her issue at all!”

”It fixes my issue,” Dia snapped, shaking a tiny, threatening fist. ”Whether yours gets fixed is your problem. You already agreed to cooperate. If you break your word, may you swallow a thousand needles! Besides, the Swordswoman is your operator. Take some responsibility! Just don’t even think about sitting up front, or I’ll blast you!”

With that ultimatum, the Witch scurried off, leaving Ashe with zero room for rebuttal.

He had been thoroughly played, but he couldn’t deny her logic. If something was wrong with the Swordswoman, the burden fell squarely on him. She was his operator, after all, not the Witch’s.

More importantly, Ashe knew damn well that he was the root cause of her sudden, chilling shift.

The Miracle Treat Others with Sincerity couldn’t outright read minds, but judging by the subtle shifts in the Swordswoman’s expression, Ashe knew she had already pieced together the ugly truth just by reading the turbulent fluctuations of his emotions.

In this regard, Ashe didn’t dare underestimate a woman’s intuition in the slightest. Back in middle school, he had barely even developed a crush on his deskmate before his mother picked up on it with frightening accuracy. She had snuffed it out before it could even begin by blaming his slipping grades, of course. And the Swordswoman’s intuition was far from ordinary; even Aurora’s Sorcerer Handbook explicitly acknowledged it as her personal talent, the Pitch Black Heart.

Besides, Ashe knew he couldn’t hide the truth anyway.

It was just like when Annan had confessed to him, and his mind had flashed back to that trace of color frozen in the Swordswoman’s eyes within the black-and-white Static Zone. Now, facing the Swordswoman in the flesh, his lips still seemed to linger on the memory of that intimate fusion from just a few hours ago.

He could navigate corporate politics calmly between different departments, skillfully shift blame in reports, and fool project leads with an expression of perfect sincerity, but none of those tricks translated to his love life. If even a tenth of his professional competence applied to romance, his only nightlife wouldn’t be mandatory overtime, and he wouldn’t constantly be watching movies alone.

What do I do... what do I do...

To be honest, Ashe was panicking. He had never seen the Swordswoman this angry before. Even when he had arranged that absurdly earnest summoning ritual for her in the past, she had never been this terrifying.

In the past, she would never have willingly left him alone with the Witch. Yet just now, she had turned and walked away without a single word. That kind of ”let it all burn” resentment made Ashe feel like he was sitting on a ticking time bomb.

The strangest part of all was her behavior. She acted as if absolutely nothing had happened, as if she were entirely oblivious. She fought and explored as usual, explained the mechanics of the Virtual World as always, and... she actually seemed more polite and dutiful than before.

After securing the Mercury materials from the Resource Point, Ashe looked at the vehicle. The Witch was already safely entrenched in the front passenger seat, leaving the Swordswoman alone in the back. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he cautiously slid into the backseat.

The Swordswoman glanced at him. Ashe’s heart instantly leaped into his throat. If her expression darkened by even a fraction of a degree, he would rather risk getting blasted by the Witch than stay there; he would retreat to the front passenger seat immediately.

However, she said nothing. Instead, she simply redirected her calm gaze straight ahead.

Ashe let out a quiet breath of relief and pulled up the Virtual World Map to plan their next move through the Garden region.

”Captain.”

The sudden voice made both Ashe and the Witch flinch.

Ashe replied instantly, ”Yes? What is it?”

Sonya noted. ”We are still missing two maps. One of them belongs to the Oasis. Now that the Oasis and the Spider Tower have formed an alliance, their combined forces will undoubtedly mobilize if we attack the Garden’s capital city. That will be our chance.”

She paused briefly before continuing, ”Compared to raw resources, aren’t the Oasis map and the Commander’s Handbook higher priorities?”

Drawn back into serious tactical discussion, Ashe answered in kind. ”Collecting the maps is our way to locate the Rainbow Tail, but pinning all our hopes on that alone is too risky. We are gathering resources to upgrade the car’s armaments. That way, we’ll have better mobility and greater safety margins to maneuver through the battlefield when the war for the capital city erupts.”

Sonya nodded in understanding. ”I see. So if we fail to find the Rainbow Tail, we can still rely on our Conjuring spirit and the car’s mechanical advantages to seize opportunities during the capital city war. That does make the vehicle a priority. Speaking of which, while the Starshot Warrior suits my style perfectly, it doesn’t do much for the two of you... Witch, if you were to design a custom unit, what functions would you want?”

That immediately got Dia excited. ”First, I’d max out melee damage. The armor doesn’t need to be thick. As for abilities, I’d want two. One for restoring armor upon killing an enemy, and another for boosting movement speed. My combat strategy completely shifts depending on whether it’s a duel or a chaotic brawl. In large-scale battles, I usually use Aqua Lines to pull enemies together and disrupt their ranks, so speed becomes absolutely vital...”

Ashe eagerly joined the discussion. Ever since learning about the unit system, he had constantly fantasized about what kind of custom unit would suit him best, much like how a card game enthusiast couldn’t help but theorycraft their own broken cards. The game balance would probably be terrible, but in reality, who cared about balance anyway?

By the time they arrived at the next Resource Point, spirits were high. Dia, still brimming with ideas for her hypothetical fourth unit, reluctantly stepped out of the vehicle.

At that moment, Ashe hesitated for a second before calling out, ”Witch, head inside first and see if you can lure the creatures out.”

”No problem!”

The moment Dia disappeared into the mine entrance, Ashe adjusted his breathing, summoned his courage, and turned to the Swordswoman with a serious expression. ”Swordswoman... I’m sorry.”

The atmosphere had been so lively and relaxed just moments ago. The Swordswoman had talked and laughed normally, showing no signs of avoiding him. Ashe felt that her anger might have finally thawed, making this the perfect window to lay everything out and explain.

He had already rehearsed several scenarios in his mind. Whether she reacted with fury, deep dissatisfaction, or even a sudden physical outburst, he was fully prepared to take it.

Yet her actual response caught him completely off guard.

”Why are you apologizing to me?” Sonya asked, a light smile playing on her lips.

Ashe froze. ”B-Because you seem upset... Actually, in reality, I—”

”Whatever happens to you in reality has nothing to do with me,” Sonya interrupted calmly, her gaze drifting toward the mine. ”I can’t see it, I can’t hear it, and I have no right to interfere with it.”

She turned back to him, her face the very picture of sincerity. ”If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I used a Miracle to probe your emotions just now. That was wrong of me. If I were in your shoes, I would definitely feel violated and angry too. I’m truly sorry.”

”I’m not blaming you for that,” Ashe said immediately.

Sonya met his gaze squarely. ”But I still feel terrible about it, just as you must have felt when I pried. Only by carrying the same weight of discomfort can my apology mean anything.”

She gave him a reassuring look. ”You don’t need to walk on eggshells around me, nor do you need to hold yourself back. At the end of the day, we are just teammates in the Virtual World, partners in an adventure. We have no control over each other’s real lives. All we need to do is fulfill our respective duties here. Beyond that, we don’t have, and cannot have, any other kind of relationship.”

Sonya reached out, her fingers lightly brushing against his hand. ”See? I can’t even feel your body temperature.”

She broke contact and looked toward the tunnel entrance. ”The Witch is coming back out. Looks like the creatures here are just as clever as the last bunch. They won’t take the bait. Let’s end the chat here. After you, Captain.”

Watching the Swordswoman’s retreating back, Ashe stood rooted to the spot in heavy silence for a long moment before finally following her inside.