The Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 28: Legend of the Golden Fish

In the white mist of the Sea of Knowledge, Ashe and Sonya were out of breath as they lay sprawled on the small boat, gasping for breath.

"Did it catch up?"

"No... I don't think so."

"What kind of route did you bring us through? You nearly got us killed."

"I told you beforehand it was a bit dangerous. And who was the one acting all confident like a student holding a cheat sheet just now?"

"You call that a bit dangerous!?"

They had thinned to the point that they almost blended into the surrounding fog, as if they could vanish at any moment. Even their bickering sounded feeble.

Moments earlier, after nearly an hour of aimless sailing with no success, Ashe had lost his patience and suggested they explore the area marked Best to Avoid. Having entered the Virtual World for the first time and never faced real danger, Sonya's confidence ran high, and she agreed. Together, they pushed past the white mist and entered the danger zone.

Instead of finding an Inheritance Island, they were confronted by a massive winged fish. With a single charge, it flipped Ashe's boat and fired water cannons strong enough to generate waves tens of meters high. They were grazed by just one of those shots, yet it felt like hundreds of passes with sandpaper scraping against their skin.

Fortunately, the boat was incredibly sturdy. Even after being overturned, it stubbornly floated. The two scrambled back aboard and desperately paddled away by hand, while the giant fish continued to pursue them, even leaping from the sea to strike. Thinking quickly, Ashe used the Virtual World Exploration function to propel the boat forward at high speed, narrowly dodging the creature's charge and preserving their first blood-free run in the Virtual World.

Catching her breath, Sonya glanced at the drenched Ashe and asked doubtfully, "Couldn't you have killed that Mudfish Drake earlier?"

Ashe, still gasping, shrugged. "You couldn't even handle it. How am I supposed to?"

Is the Watcher really this weak?

Countless thoughts raced through Sonya's mind, but in the end, she chose to remain silent. Even if he were weak, she had no way to resist him. She couldn't kill the Watcher, nor had she discovered any method to break his control. Even Professor Trosan had failed to notice the Watcher's presence.

Now that Ashe had shown he could navigate through the Virtual World's fog, her view of him changed.

As a newly ascended One-Winged sorcerer, she understood how important the Virtual World was to a sorcerer. And she knew just how extraordinary it was that the Watcher could peer through the mist.

What made all sorcerers equal was the fog itself. No one could see through it, and it was the unknown risks and rewards that leveled the playing field. The strong weren't exempt from danger, while the weak still had a chance to rise to glory. This was what they meant by equal opportunity.

But now... someone who can see through the unknown and navigate risks no one else could has appeared. In every way, the Watcher of Doomsday is a sorcerer among sorcerers. He's the one who stands above them all!

If earlier she had followed Ashe out of necessity and a sense of helplessness, she now admired his ability. She even secretly hoped to coast to a bright future under his guidance, which in some ways was no different from falling into corruption.

She had originally wanted to ask why Ashe had chosen her and what made her stand out. But then she thought, What if the Watcher suddenly realized, "Why do I even need you?" and just abandoned me? That would mean losing my chance to become someone extraordinary! Besides, without enough strength... how could he have controlled my actions, seen through the mist of the Virtual World, and pulled me into the dream trial? I have to watch out for him playing the weak card. If I fell for it, he could use the opportunity to punish me even more harshly.

"So... what was that fish earlier?"

Here he goes again, asking such a basic question! Keep pretending, just keep pretending!

Sonya explained, "That's a Mudfish Drake, one of the most common Knowledge Creatures in the Virtual World. Killing it can grant Water or Earth Class spirits, and if it has slain other sorcerers before, it might even carry their spirits."

There were only two types of intelligent beings in the Virtual World. One was the sorcerers, and the other was the Knowledge Creatures. As the name suggests, killing a Knowledge Creature could grant a sorcerer the knowledge it had condensed within its body—its spirits.

Unlike sorcerers' legacies, the spirits dropped by Knowledge Creatures weren't fixed. They usually matched the creature's typing. A Mudfish Drake, for example, would never drop a Fire Class spirit.

Even within the same class, the types of spirits could vary, and their drops could change with system updates. If a sorcerer in the real world created a new system of knowledge and summoned a fresh spirit, others could acquire that spirit by defeating Knowledge Creatures in the Virtual World. If the system was especially radical, it might even spawn entirely new Knowledge Creatures, enriching the Virtual World's biodiversity.

In this way, knowledge followed a principle much like equal opportunity. No one could monopolize it forever. No matter how tightly someone guarded their inventions, others could still acquire the results in the Virtual World. The only way to stay ahead was to keep innovating. Those who clung to old methods, hoping a single invention would secure lasting dominance, were no different from fools who lingered too long in one place. Hesitate too long, and the World itself would swallow you; fail to innovate, and reality would crush you.

After finishing her explanation about Knowledge Creatures, Sonya couldn't help but ask, "Since you know there's danger in the mist, can't you tell what kind of creature it is?"

"I can't. I only know how dangerous the mist is to us. I can't tell what the actual threat is."

Hearing that, Sonya felt a bit disappointed. "Then you surely won't be able to find the Golden Fish either."

Ashe frowned. "The Golden Fish? What's that?"

To Sonya, his question was like hearing someone ask, "What's one plus one?"

She twitched her lips and suddenly thought of something. Is he trying to train me to be obedient by asking me stupid questions? If I resist, will he think I'm not loyal enough and punish me?

On guard, she answered carefully, taking the question seriously. "The Golden Fish is a creature that floats on the surface of the Sea of Knowledge. On its back lies the Continent of Time, where the Two-Winged sorcerers reside—"

"Wait... a continent?" Ashe interrupted. "How big is this fish?"

At that thought, she immediately went on guard and answered cautiously, treating the question seriously. "The Golden Fish is a creature that floats on the surface of the Sea of Knowledge. On its back lies the Continent of Time, where the Two-Winged sorcerers reside—"

"Wait... a continent?" Ashe interrupted. "How big is this fish?"

"Very big. No one has ever seen it entirely. Even the smallest scale on its back is said to be the size of a city capable of holding a million people."

"If it's that big, shouldn't it be easy to find?"

"Just the opposite. Only an extremely lucky few ever encounter the Golden Fish. Without exception, those fortunate enough to find it become legendary sorcerers of great renown."

"Oh. And what's the benefit of finding it?"

"Landing on the Continent of Time and becoming a Two-Winged Sorcerer."

"What?"

"Directly becoming a Two-Winged sorcerer," Sonya said, forcing back her impatience. Even the children I tutored weren't this slow in understanding this.

"The biggest difference between a One-Winged and a Two-Winged sorcerer is that One-Winged Sorcerers remain in the Sea of Knowledge, while Two-Winged sorcerers ascend to the Continent of Time. When a One-Winged sorcerer condenses their mana to its peak in the Sea of Knowledge and manifests the Silver Wing, they can no longer gain mana from navigating. To reach the next level, they must ascend and become a Two-Winged sorcerer.

"The orthodox path is for a sorcerer to study knowledge, summon a Two-Winged spirit, and then find the Door of Truth within it to traverse the Virtual World. That takes them to the second layer, the Continent of Time. Only there can a sorcerer absorb more mana and manifest the second wing, the Gold Wing."

So that's it... One-Winged sorcerers navigate the Sea of Knowledge and condense the Silver Wing, while Two-Winged sorcerers walk the Continent of Time and condense the Gold Wing.

By now, Ashe had grasped the basics of the sorcerer power system, but he still had one question. "Can't a One-Winged sorcerer take a Two-Winged spirit from someone else and go straight to the Continent of Time?"

"Absolutely not," Sonya shook her head. "Unless you personally summon a spirit, you cannot find the Door of Truth within it. In fact, it would be nearly impossible to search through those spirits. Spirits are made of knowledge. If you don't understand their structure, how could you uncover their secrets?"

With that, Ashe finally understood the path to ascension for a sorcerer. Summon higher-level spirits... use them to reach higher layers of the Virtual World... grow stronger... summon even higher-level spirits... and repeat the cycle.

Thanks to the principles of equal opportunity and equal knowledge, adventure and research were intertwined throughout a sorcerer's life. No one could retire comfortably. To maintain their edge, sorcerers had to keep taking risks and creating value. The system ensured healthy development while constantly weeding out the lazy and stagnant.

Ashe thought wryly, This sounds a lot like a KPI system. Add an elimination round at the end, and it would be perfect.

Realizing sorcerers were essentially another type of wage worker, Ashe felt a surge of confidence. When it comes to working hard and competing, I've never lost to anyone.

"Wait! If we find the Golden Fish and reach the Continent of Time, wouldn't that be a shortcut for promotion?"

Sonya shrugged. "We prefer to call it being a stowaway and sneaking from the bottom to the top. That's why all sorcerers want to find the Golden Fish. Who could resist the temptation of an easy gain? So... can you find the Golden Fish?"

"I want to."

"Then stop asking so many questions and keep sailing," Sonya said, glancing at her slightly ethereal hands. "Avoid places where battles happen. I'm a little tired. If we sail through one or two more regions, we'll probably have to leave the Virtual World."

Ashe nodded, feeling the fatigue himself. Each ordinary voyage in the Virtual World came with countless precious miracles, but it was not without its cost. Passing through the mist gathered their mana and tempered their mind, but it also consumed their soul energy. Once their soul energy dropped too low, they would have to exit the Virtual World to rest.

Ashe activated Virtual World Exploration. As usual, many areas were labeled Waste of Effort or Best to Avoid. But this time, the lower-right corner of the map shimmered with golden light, and a bold message appeared beneath the region.

[Welcome!]