The Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 118: The Golden Fishs Stomach

​​[Sorcerer's Handbook: Culinary Records]

- Mastery of Common Recipes.

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[Sorcerer's Handbook: Cat Care Diary]

- Mastery of Cat Raising.

- Mastery of Litter Cleaning.

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[Sorcerer's Handbook: Fishing Secrets]

- Mastery of Identifying Unknown Items.

"Wow... this fishing sorcerer has pulled all sorts of strange things out of the river and somehow even developed the ability to identify unknown items. Yet judging by his repeated failures in actual fishing, he clearly lacks the basic Fishing Mastery skill."

Sonya flopped onto the sand without a care for manners. Her face was flushed, and she panted in short, shallow gasps. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. In a tone that sounded like part complaint, part excitement, she said, "But he's certainly skilled at hooking people. I almost got killed."

The fishing sorcerer wielded an unusual fishing rod that could function as both a spear and a grappling tool, allowing seamless long-range and close combat. He was a rare sorcerer, adept at group fights, and could hold his own against both Ashe and Sonya.

At one point, he even played a clever trick. He baited Ashe into a defensive move with his long line and hook, then immediately turned to strike Sonya from behind. She had noticed the backstab attempt, but simply had no time to evade. Had Ashe not promptly cast a Sword Barrier around her, both of them would likely have handed their first death to the Virtual World.

Even after narrowly escaping death, defeating the sorcerer required immense effort. Ashe sustained countless minor injuries, and half of Sonya's hand was pierced. Luckily, the Virtual World's soul energy allowed them to heal rapidly. If they had been in the real world, the fishing sorcerer would have killed them easily.

Aside from lacking fishing mastery, the fishing sorcerer had virtually no other weaknesses.

Ashe watched the Sorcerer's Handbook turn to smoke in his hands. Shortly after, the Inheritance Island began sinking into the sea.

He glanced at Sonya. Still seated on the ground, her body had turned half-transparent. It was a clear sign that her soul energy had been heavily drained. He reached out. "Let's call it a night."

Sonya grasped his hand and stood. "I think I could go another round."

Ashe shook his head, smiling. "I'm tired. I don't want to continue."

He stretched lazily on the boat. "No need to push yourself. If I die in the Virtual World tonight, it will only affect my escape tomorrow. Let's sail a little longer, then call it a night."

He added, feigning complaint, "Honestly, trying to find the Golden Fish in one night has always been a ridiculous goal. It's perfectly normal that we didn't find it. If we had succeeded, I'd start questioning whether the Four Pillars Deities were really blessing me. It's all your fault for bringing up the Golden Fish. The bigger the hope, the greater the disappointment. Swordswoman, this one's on you!"

Despite Ashe's absurd blame, Sonya wasn't angry. She perched on the boat with her legs crossed, her shapely thighs forming a subtle, elegant line. Resting her elbows on her knees, she supported her chin with a pale hand as she watched Ashe.

Her outfit for the night was a black vest paired with a deep-red miniskirt, short leather boots, and knee-high socks. It was accented with black straps around her thighs. Fashionable and youthful, she brought a splash of color to the gray-white Sea of Knowledge.

Seeing her silent and composed, Ashe felt a twinge of nervousness. "Sorry... I was too arrogant. By the way, here's a joke. Once, a little white rabbit met a bear that was—"

"Stop. I'm thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"About the Golden Fish," Sonya said calmly. "Let's organize the information we have and see if we can figure out the truth about it."

Ashe waved a hand dismissively. "Don't bother. Countless sorcerers have searched for years and found nothing. Are we really supposed to believe our talent surpasses theirs, or that we train harder? Even they had to go step by step and raise their sorcery rank before climbing higher in the Virtual World. Counting on the Golden Fish is nothing more than an unrealistic fantasy."

"But sorcerers exist to chase miracles," Sonya countered, tilting her head with a smile. "Anyway, we still have time. Just consider it doing me a favor and help me think about how to find the Golden Fish."

Ashe pursed his lips, tapped the Virtual World map to steer the boat toward the safe zone, and hugged his knees. "Since you're dressed so beautifully tonight, I'll grant you this courtesy."

Sonya chirped, "Thanks! Let's start by organizing the new information we've gained."

Ashe nodded. "Of the three sorcerer projections we defeated earlier, two of their handbooks mentioned the Golden Fish. The culinary sorcerer wanted to taste its meat, while the fishing sorcerer believed it could actually be caught."

It was hard to decide which of the two was more audacious—the culinary sorcerer, daring enough to covet a supreme being in the Virtual World, or the fishing sorcerer, crazy enough to dream of catching it even within the Virtual World.

"The culinary sorcerer pursued it for years until death without tasting a scrap of the Golden Fish. But he wasn't without gains. At one point, he even arrived at a Destiny Quiz Island."

This showcased just how increasingly vital Ashe's "Handbook-Free Reading" skill would become in the future. At first, they could only read the handbooks of low-rank sorcerers. Since the journeys of these sorcerers weren't particularly remarkable, the benefit was minimal, but still better than nothing. Once they reached the core area of the Sea of Knowledge, they would start to encounter projections of powerful sorcerers, and the value of reading their handbooks skyrocketed.

Ashe and Sonya weren't the only ones experiencing extraordinary events in the Virtual World; other sorcerers, too, enjoyed their own strokes of luck. Even more intriguingly, the surprises of the Virtual World weren't always unique or impossible to replicate.

Reading a Sorcerer's Handbook was essentially like gaining access to that sorcerer's exploration strategies and intelligence from their time in the Virtual World. The Whirlpool Secret Poison served as a perfect example. Had Ashe not read that handbook and learned the rapid-leveling strategy it contained, they would probably still be stuck at Half-Wing Silver Rank.

"Like us, he also asked the Virtual World about the Golden Fish. He wanted to know whether he could eat it in the Sea of Knowledge. The answer was no," Ashe explained.

"From this, we can conclude that the Golden Fish doesn't exist in a corporeal form here," Sonya added.

Ashe continued, "The fishing sorcerer, however, believed the Golden Fish was hidden somewhere in the sea. He persisted in fishing in the Virtual World for over a decade. Apart from occasionally catching Knowledge Creatures like Mudfish Drakes or Fish-Slaying Dragons, he found no trace of it. He even dove into the Sea of Knowledge himself, but the waters were pitch black, and he quickly died." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"From this, we can also conclude that diving into the Sea of Knowledge to search for the Golden Fish is futile," Sonya said.

She fell silent for a moment, then added, "But the intelligence we obtained earlier said the Golden Fish could be seen without any rituals, and that it always floated on the surface of the sea."

Ashe counted on his fingers. "The Golden Fish floats on the surface, isn't corporeal, and can be seen directly... Ah, I know what it is!"

Sonya looked at him in surprise. "Ah?"

Ashe gazed at the thick white fog surrounding their little boat. "Look at this mist! It fits all the characteristics. It floats on the sea, can't be eaten, and can be seen directly. The only problem is... it doesn't seem capable of supporting an entire continent."

Sonya snapped. "Focus!"

Leaning back lazily against the boat, Ashe smiled. "I'm serious. Don't worry. Even without Gold Mana, I won't just die on our escape... probably."

Sonya's eyes flickered. "Who cares? I just want to see the Continent of Time as soon as possible. If I stay too long in the Sea of Knowledge, my mana won't grow at all."

"Fine, fine, my bad," Ashe said cheerfully. "By the way, didn't you take a break for an hour tonight? What did you do with that time?"

"I went drinking with Senior Leona," Sonya replied.

"The same Leona who beat you so badly last time?"

"What do you mean beat me badly? I won! Besides, it's your fault for forcing me to fight her in the first place! And now you have the nerve to say—"

"Hey, are you even old enough to drink?" Ashe interrupted.

"Tch, of course I am! I've been an adult for a long time. She told me all kinds of stories from her Abyss expeditions. They were really interesting."

"Like what?"

"For example, there's a very rare creature called a Dark Shadow. It has no physical form and attacks the soul. It's extremely tricky but has an obvious weakness. To deal severe damage to its main body, you first have to shine a light on its shadow, then strike.

"Then there's the terrifying Eyeball Hunter. Its body is incredibly tough, and when someone looks at it, it stays perfectly still. But the moment you look away, it quickly approaches and pierces the sorcerer's eye. Senior Leona's team encountered one once. Luckily, they were far enough to escape in time.

"The most dangerous monsters in the shallow layers of the Abyss are the Devourers. They're enormous, and they disguise their stomachs as ordinary rock caves. Once a sorcerer steps inside, the stomach-cave closes and releases highly potent gastric acid. Ordinary Silver Rank sorcerers can hardly break through the stomach, leaving them helpless as they melt..."

As Sonya recounted these terrifying Abyss stories, her eyes sparkled with excitement. At first, Ashe listened indulgently, enjoying her tales, but over time his expression gradually changed, until he suddenly sat up. "Did you just mention a creature that disguises its stomach as a cave?"

"Yes, it's called a Devourer. Have you seen one?"

"I think... I might have seen something similar," Ashe admitted.

"Similar?" Sonya asked, blinking.

Ashe looked up at the white fog shrouding the sky. "Do you think... we might be inside the Golden Fish's stomach?"