Sorcerer Manual - Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Such a Pretty Face Would Probably Cry for a Long Time if It Took a Punch!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Every era had its own main theme. In the era where the gods had yet to shed their glory, the main theme was violence, plunder, and destruction. All creatures had to fight for resources, and all creatures had to gamble their lives to reproduce and survive.
In this age of gods, Igora believed that the current main theme was dominance.
Dominate others, dominate organizations, dominate cultures, dominate thoughts…
It had already become difficult for large-scale wars to occur, and people were no longer expanding territories. Everyone was fighting for the resources that already existed. Classes had solidified, systems had become supreme, and plunder had been replaced with higher levels of exploitation. All actions had to follow the rules of the game that had been set a thousand years ago.
Pure violence without style was no longer appropriate. Only romantic spiritual dominance could fit into this world smoothly.
In terms of dominance, spiritual sorcerers were undoubtedly the best choice.
Although Igora was only a two-winged spiritual sorcerer, in this nation of Blood Moon where classes were inherently solidified, life trajectories were fixed at birth, and most people were fated to never enter the Illusory Realm, he was like a beast at the top of the food chain.
The most dangerous knowledge was controlled by the Blood Sage Clan and the Lunar Shadow Clan. Ordinary sorcerers had never even heard of the spiritual school, let alone know how to guard against it.
Even Igora had his spiritual knowledge was awakened due to his veela bloodline. He had found two important spell spirits successively in the Illusory Realm, “Resonance” and “Compliance”. It was how he was reborn as a spiritual sorcerer.
In addition, he was a contractor in the insurance industry and had a basic spell spirit, “Contract”. Therefore, he created a miracle that was specifically targeted at intelligent creatures—”Do As You Say”!
Regardless of whether it was a joke or a lie, once someone reached an agreement with Igora, he could establish a connection with the other party through “Resonance”, make a promise with “Contract”, and then ask the other party to fulfill their promise with “Compliance”!
In a civilized society, this miracle of his could be said to have always been favorable. If he hadn’t encountered an unusually difficult target, he would be lying in a sunny beach villa to enjoy wine, instead of fighting at the bottom of this prison surrounded by lake water.
But wherever there were rules, he was still someone dominant, and prison was no exception.
Even though the spell spirits were forbidden here, spell spirits were the manifestation of knowledge, so Igora could still achieve his goals indirectly.
Spell spirits were like a fire for roasting meat. Even though the fire was extinguished, as long as one put in a bit of effort to drill the wood and start a fire, they could still light it up for roasting meat.
“Contract”, “Resonance”, and “Compliance” were all related to the art of speech. With the power of speech alone, Igora could bypass the restrictions of the chip and trigger the resonance of the spell spirits.
In the past 45 deathmatches, he had used the miracle “Do As You Say” to force his opponent to agree to the deathmatch. Even if his opponent lost, they would still agree to his second, third, and fourth deathmatches, until Igora had drained their contribution points dry and stopped.
‘He’ll attack my left cheek.’
“Weak, weak, too weak!”
Igora easily dodged Ash’s attack and taunted blatantly, “Your punches are like a child’s. Who do you think you can hit?!”
‘He will lift his leg to attack my left calf.’
‘He wants to do a body lock on me.’
“He wants to use his right hook.”
Intense thoughts flowed from his opponent’s body into Igora’s consciousness. Igora looked at this man who was akin to a trapped beast with pity in his eyes. A disdainful smile appeared on his lips—once chained, the livestock already lost the ability to harm its master!
This was a small trick that Igora had invented only after he was imprisoned. It was not a miracle. Just using the connection of “Contract” accompanied by leading words, Igora could cause “Resonance” to take effect between himself and his opponent continuously, thereby learning his opponent’s intentions of attack!
If he could leave the Shattered Lake Prison, perhaps Igora could invent a miracle similar to “Defeat By Foresight”.
But even an incomplete technique was enough to allow Igora to win 45 matches in a row!
However, the winning streak would soon continue for another 10 matches. In Igora’s eyes, Ash Heath was already a lamb ready for roasting! This deathmatch was only the starting point. Next, Igora would win 10 matches against him in a row, and take his 50 initial contribution points away completely!
This was the meaning of a deathmatch—eliminating the weak and identifying the livestock!
Prostrate before feet and let me trample on you, livestock!
‘He wants to punch me in the chest.’
Igora avoided his fist and punched back using the momentum. He teased, “Good luck. You almost hit me… Huh?”
Although his punch had missed, Ash quickly lowered his head and avoided Igora’s attack. He even leaned into Igora’s arms and raised his elbows.
Naturally, Igora quickly retreated to avoid the attack, but he was filled with bewilderment—this was the first time Ash had dodged his attack.
Although once wasn’t much, it was not a good sign.
I can’t play around anymore. I’ll knock him out directly.
With this thought in mind, Igora shook off the blood on his fist. With a loud yell, he rushed forward. He focused all his attention on capturing Ash’s intentions and aimed at Ash’s vital points!
“Beautiful Beast, stop wasting time. Just end this quickly!”
“It’s rare to have a newcomer. Don’t spoil it so quickly!”
“Beautiful Beast, you already have so many contribution points. Why don’t you let me have a good time too?”
“Beautiful Beast, bring your knife for the next match. I want to eat some tasty thigh meat! Don’t snatch it from me, Runner!”
The prisoners in the audience were laughing and joking. Runner, who was drawing circles on his boyfriend’s chest, suddenly said, “Even if I don’t snatch it from you, you won’t be able to get any.”
“Huh?”
The prisoners were slightly stunned. When they focused, many of their expressions changed. “This guy… Is this what the believer of the Four Pillar Deities is like…”
Although Ash’s movements were in a sorry state, his defense efficiency was visibly increasing. Before, Igora could hit Ash with every punch. Now, Igora could only hit Ash once in every four punches if he was lucky, and that punch might even be blocked by Ash’s arm.
It was not a leap in physical fitness, but more like an instinct for battle.
Ash’s movements did not become faster. It had even slowed down due to exhaustion and pain. But his movements became sharper, as if he had completely transformed into Igora’s form. He knew how to meet Igora’s move the moment Igora lifted a hand.
To be honest, Igora was not considered strong in the Deathmatch Society. He was not even considered to be in the second tier. He was powerful because he could devour the weak and break past prison rules to completely squeeze the loser dry. However, everyone had to admit that Igora had good judgment. He could always find the weak he could bully. His total victory in the past 45 deathmatches was enough to prove all these.
When Ash and Igora walked onto the stage, everyone felt that Ash was going to lose all his contribution points and become a permanent guest of the Blood Moon Judgment. After all, Ash did not show any combat talent and looked like a pretty boy. It made people harbor deep doubts regarding whether this so-called Four Pillar Deities Cult was another name of a dating center for rich women.
However, with just a few minutes of fighting, Ash was reborn. From a greenhouse flower that did not even know how to defend, he became a calm and experienced jungle man-eating flower. He even vaguely had the upper hand!
“Master Tyger, it looks like he’s the same kind of person as you.” Someone laughed. “I didn’t expect Igora to be played by someone pretending to be weak.”
“No.”
The white-haired old man, Tyger, who usually feigned cowardice, had a serious expression on his face now. “He wasn’t pretending to be weak. He was actually weak before.”
“The body can’t lie,” Runner said, also straightening to sit on his boyfriend’s lap. “His body hasn’t been honed in any battles. You can tell at a glance that he’s a pampered scholar. I’m the one who brought him in. I can see it clearly. All his physical reactions don’t appear like that of someone who’s been through combat training. He’s worse than a child.”
“Judging from his defensive posture at the beginning, this battle might even be one of his rare close combats in recent years.”
Someone muttered, “How is this possible… Doesn’t this mean…”
“That’s right.” In the darkness, Runner sighed. “A wrong person awakened a wrong talent in a wrong place. This is really… a pity.”
Thud!
Igora used his hands to block Ash’s punch. This was the first time he was on defense since the battle began. Compared to the spectators in the audience, Igora had a deeper understanding of Ash’s speed of improvement—it was as if he had turned from a silent livestock awaiting slaughter into… a very loud livestock awaiting slaughter.
“What a cute punch. It’s weaker than a baby’s.” Igora grinned hideously. “Tired, aren’t you?”
Ash remained silent. He paced back and forth to confront Igura, searching for a gap in his defense.
“I have to admit that I have indeed underestimated you. Your learning speed has far exceeded my expectations. Is it a gift from the Four Pillar Deities? Or is it a talent that you have just discovered? I admit that you have the ability to rise above the position of livestock, but your physique is just too weak. It’s so weak that I only need to stall for time to exhaust you!”
“Consider the one contribution point you’ve bet as a ransom for your transformation from livestock to human. Be thankful, Ash Heath. You’re the only livestock that can break free from the chains, but that’s all you are. After this deathmatch, I won’t have anything to do with you, and I won’t accept any of your challenges. Under the rules of prison, you won’t be able to take revenge on me.”
“Understanding the rules, utilizing the rules, and controlling the rules—this is true strength. The little innate combat talent you have can at most allow you to turn from a livestock into a… beast!”
“When you are swallowed by power and sent to the Blood Moon Judgment to struggle, I will be sitting in a safe place, and drinking red wine while admiring your ugly state. This is the difference between you and me. This is the gap between the dominated and the dominant!”
At that moment, Ash suddenly said, “Don’t cover your face.”
Igora smiled disdainfully. ‘Only a fool would listen to you—’
“You’re quite pretty. I want to take a few more looks.”
‘You’re quite pretty. I want to take a few more looks.’
Ash’s words and his true thoughts were conveyed at the same time. Igora was stunned by what he heard. This was the first time he had heard such praise in the arena. Out of the instinct to flaunt, he subconsciously moved his hands away—
Thud!
The heavy fist that had been accumulating power for a long time smashed into Igora’s face. It knocked him unconscious directly.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[Winner Determined.. The Winner is Ash Heath!]
