Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 315: Leaving the Cabin

“Everyone must be very quiet… don’t wake her…”

“We must enter the Virtual Realm only after she falls asleep; we cannot let her detect any traces or get any hints… She must continue the Armoring Ritual in complete ignorance, otherwise the Hag will know.”

“Don’t forget to buy a return ticket before deceiving the heavens.”

“The Bronze Dragon… this is our chance! We can finally leave this prison! According to the clues provided by Destiny’s Inquiry, our departure is scheduled for May 2nd!”

“It’s time to make a decision, Deya.”

“Deya, now is not the time to be soft-hearted.”

“After the Bronze Dragon takes us away, she will be a burden… Yes, she is the purest, most beautiful, and kindest girl in the world, but she is also our enemy.”

“She is the Sacrifice chosen by the Hag, the unformed despair, the suffocating air… If she does not die, we are still caught in the Hag’s Weaving, unable to break free from the shackles of fate no matter how far we run. She is the Mask over our faces.”

“Deya, only you are qualified to make this decision. This is the one thing you cannot rely on us for.”

“It can only be you, it must be you.”

“Kill Lise, Deya.”

Deya opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.

“Having a nightmare?” Ashe asked. “It’s my first time seeing someone cry in their sleep.”

“Given our situation, everything we do could be considered a first and precious experience,” Sonya said, propping up her chin. “Like the first time gouging out a boyfriend’s eyeballs or something…”

“I only have two eyeballs though!”

“Then pulling out a boyfriend’s tongue would definitely be a novel experience…”

“I’m sure it’s the cabin that’s wrong,” Ashe declared confidently. “How could the person I care about most not be the Lover willing to join me in this adventure at the cabin of amnesia? Don’t be fooled by the cabin’s tricks!”

“I don’t care who you value the most,” Sonya rolled her eyes. “And watch your words, who said I’m your Lover? It’s all your own presumptuous guesswork, taking advantage of my amnesia, hmph.”

“Since I’m not the person you value most, obviously I’m not your Lover either. Let’s go our separate ways after leaving the cabin; I’m physically allergic to men who are popular with women.”

Ashe muttered, “Your favorite person isn’t me either…”

“That’s because there’s no gender restriction, so of course I like myself the most!” Sonya immediately retorted. “If it’s only about my favorite male, then I definitely—”

“Definitely what?”

“I won’t tell you.” Sonya turned her head away. “We’re not even acquaintances, let’s not talk so much.”

“Well said!”

An Observer, who had been watching the drama unfold, clapped his hands. “Now that everyone is awake, please leave the cabin as soon as possible. After all, this isn’t exactly a great place for chatting, and…”

He glanced sideways at the Swordswoman and the Witch behind him, revealing his hidden subtext: “And we have a single woman here who can’t stand seeing others in love, you’ll get killed if you keep flirting here.”

Ashe and the others had stayed in the cabin even after answering the question because they were waiting for Deya to wake up. According to the information revealed by the questions, they knew that Deya might be a Substitute for Danzel’s Lover, and Danzel is an incurably obsessive and possessive type.

If they were to carry an unconscious Deya outside, and Danzel confirmed his suspicion, he would likely immediately snatch Deya away and lock her in a basement to paint her in various colors.

Two people carrying one unconscious person would be at a great disadvantage in a Battle against the ruthless and merciless Danzel, so they preferred to wait for Deya to wake up, even if she would just run away, to reduce the difficulty of the Battle.

Deya, who had just wiped away her tears from sleeping, was pulled aside by Sonya for a whisper. Ashe took the initiative to walk up to Danzel, who also stood up to face him—Ashe then noticed that Danzel was actually much taller than him.

It was also because of the height, when Danzel first entered the cabin, everyone subconsciously assumed she was a male. After all, in her loose Spiderweb Cloak, the tall Danzel looked more like a serial killer who had wandered into the cabin by mistake.

“Interested in a private meeting in the cabin? Just you and me,” Ashe said with a smile.

“Although I don’t dislike you,” Danzel replied, bending slightly to whisper in Ashe’s ear, “I’m still eager to find out who has captured my heart.”

During the conversation, Danzel’s appearance began to change. The Spiderweb Cloak tightened silently, transforming into a tight, see-through mesh bodysuit. Her raven-colored hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, and the shorts, barely covering the buttocks, clung tightly to her sculpted thighs. She wore gloves made of a black and gold material.

If the Girl of Peeping, Danzel, was an untouchable Saintess, now she resembled a ghostly prowler skilled in stealth operations.

“What’s this?”

“Spider Pavilion’s fourth troop type, Assassin Specialist.”

“Spider Pavilion Assassin Specialist: Close combat attacks cause +30% Soul Damage. 3 layers of armor, humanoid creature, equipped with special Miracles ‘Instant Death’ and ‘Concealment’. Each unit consumes 7 points of Soul Power.”

[Instant Death: All things have weaknesses. The Assassin Specialist excels in detecting discordant tunes in the melody of Destiny, using them to utterly annihilate enemies. Attacks have a chance to ignore enemy armor.]

[Concealment: When other Spider Pavilion troop types are present, the Assassin Specialist will never be the primary target of an attack. Enemies must eliminate the other troop types before they can detect the presence of the Assassin Specialist.]

Although the use of the Girl of Peeping abilities was prohibited in the cabin, Danzel could utilize other troop types, just as Ashe’s current state as a Meteoric Warrior was still in effect.

Ashe narrowed his eyes, knowing Danzel wouldn’t just stand by and watch Deya leave.

Although Ashe could hold Danzel back alone in the cabin, allowing Sonya and Deya to escape first, this was clearly not the best strategy. After all, Danzel was alone, and the optimal strategy would obviously be to leave the cabin to regain 100% combat strength, then use their numerical advantage to overpower Danzel!

Ashe glanced at Sonya and Deya, understanding the next steps in their plan.

Of course, once they left the cabin, they could recover full combat strength, and so could Danzel. But it was unreasonable to think that the three of them together couldn’t defeat Danzel alone!

“And… my dear faux paramour, aren’t you being a bit careless?”

Hands quietly wrapped around Ashe’s body, one around his neck and the other around his waist, as Danzel pulled him tightly into her embrace!

The dormant Meteoric Warrior armor on Ashe’s body immediately surfaced, attempting to resist the embrace of the villainous woman, but to no avail—Danzel’s hands, equipped with Assassin Specialist gloves, could ignore the armor!

Ashe lost his chance to resist; his neck was now in Danzel’s grip. He had already experienced the strength of his grand paramour; his neck would break as easily as a wafer cookie if squeezed.

Ashe remained calm: “Planning to use me as a hostage?”

Danzel’s breath lightly brushed Ashe’s earlobe: “I just want to linger a moment longer with my little paramour before I regain my memories.”

Seeing this, Sonya immediately gripped her sword hilt, but Ashe stopped her with a look.

At the same time, an Observer from the Phantom faction placed a finger to their lips, signaling with their gaze for the Swordswoman, who was just about to rise from her chair, to sit back down.

“That’s wonderful. I too would like to feel the warmth of a lover a bit longer before we part, as we might never have the chance again,” Ashe said with a smile. “Let’s go. It’s time to leave this cabin… and perhaps start our relationship anew.”

The four approached the cabin door, with Danzel and Ashe on one side, and Sonya and Deya on the other.

Ashe reached for the door handle, then suddenly stopped.