Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Are you sure you want to pick option 4?”

“Why not? I feel like the first three options are all possible, but not completely possible. In this kind of situation, choosing ‘All of the above’ has a high chance of being correct. Trust me.”

Sonya didn’t have any objections either. She was also unsure which was the right answer, although she felt option 3 was more likely. But the future was full of uncertainties, so using the past to infer the future was actually very unreliable. Since the Observer was now strongly advocating for option 4, thenshe would go with 4 – she could blame him if it was wrong.

With a thought, Sonya ticked option 4. The paper immediately glowed with a rainbow shimmer as the words began to change –

“Congratulations, you answered correctly. Would you like to continue answering questions?”

“It was actually right!” Even Sonya was surprised.

“See, I told you to trust me. I’m confident when it comes to blindly guessing multiple choice questions,” said Ashe, once a legendary anti-overstudying king in college. “What’s the next question?”

As Sonya chose to continue, the words on the paper transformed to reveal the second question:

“Question: Multiple Choice – What was the reason the Swordswoman and the Observer reconciled after their falling out?”

“1. For a greater good.”

“2. To counter a common threat.”

“3. Because of love.”

“4. All of the above.”

“This time it must be 4 again—”

“Impossible!” Sonya vehemently shook her head. “Option 3 is definitely wrong, so it can’t be 4.”

Ashe spread his hands, the corners of his lips curving like a crescent moon. “Oh my, this is something that could happen in the future, not something that will definitely happen. Why are you being so shy about it? Just answer the question of fate with an open mind—”

Sonya was on the verge of snarling. “Then you should sort out your own emotions first! I can clearly hear the smugness in your tone that you’re unsuccessfully trying to hide!”

After bickering for a while, Sonya looked back at the question and pondered for a bit before speaking, “It should be option 1 – if it’s for a greater good, we could temporarily set aside any past grievances, no matter how serious they were.”

Ashe didn’t try to mess with her and nodded seriously. “You’re right, option 1 is the most likely. And the chances of having the same answer for two consecutive questions is low.”

It wasn’t just because of the principles of guesswork, but also logical reasoning – Ashe felt option 1 was the most sensible. Firstly, the Observer and the Swordswoman had already fallen out, so how could two estranged people possibly have romantic love? Other than common interests, what could bring them together?

After spending so many days together, Ashe already knew the Swordswoman was someone who prioritized interests above all. As for himself, an old social animal doesn’t talk about interests, does he talk about feelings?

After briefly conferring, Sonya decided to choose option 1. But when she willed it, the words on the paper glowed with a murky, turbid light – clearly an ominous sign:

“You answered incorrectly. The fate questioning ends here. You may now begin asking your question.”

They got it wrong!?

Both Ashe and Sonya were stunned. Considering there were only three other options left, and two of them contained “because of love”, that meant there was a two-thirds probability that they would reconcile in the future because of love!?

“On second thoughts, perhaps option 2 is also likely – two estranged people setting aside their differences to counter a common threat…”

“Yes, I think so too.”

Their awkward attempt to forcibly change the topic made the atmosphere turn stilted, even veering into ambiguous territory. Sonya quickly switched topics again: “So what’s your question?”

“I’ll keep it simple.” Ashe looked down at the paper.

“Question: Short Answer – Who did Sylin Dole see before he died?”

“Speaking of which, why was your question multiple choice while mine is short answer?”

“Probably because of the time frame,” Sonya guessed. “If it’s a question set too far into the future, with my current limited knowledge, it would be impossible for me to deduce the right answer. So fate questioning gives me options to choose from, at least giving me a chance to guess correctly. Your question is probably set closer to the present, so you should be able to guess it yourself without options.”

She paused for a moment: “This Sylin, is he the hidden killer you mentioned before?”

“Yes,” Ashe said. “So the answer is obvious.”

Ashe focused his mind and wrote: “Sylin Dole died after seeing Ashe Heath.”

The words on the paper morphed into a rainbow glow: “Congratulations, you answered correctly. Would you like to continue answering questions?”

After Ashe’s input, the paper displayed a second question:

“Question: Short Answer – How did the Observer escape Blood Moon Domain after breaking out of prison?”

Ashe relayed the question to Sonya. She was somewhat confused: “No multiple choices? That means you should be able to deduce the right answer based on what you currently know. Did you guys plan an escape route for after the prison break?”

“Does surviving in the wilderness count?”

To be honest, Ashe and the others hadn’t really thought about how to escape after the breakout – anyway, they would all just go their separate ways and mind their own business after getting out, no need to discuss plans with others.

For amnesiacs like Ashe who was in the dark about everything, he had no other choice but to disappear into the remote wilderness and live like a savage. But Igor, Langna, Ronat and even Harvey were all local snakes, they probably had private safehouses and wouldn’t want to share escape plans with their prison mates.

“Do you know of any ways to leave Blood Moon Domain then?”

“Nope, I don’t even know where the borders of Blood Moon Domain are right now.” Ashe looked completely lost.

Unable to come up with anything concrete through discussion, Sonya pondered: “Since we can’t think of anything, let’s just pick one of the most common options – either impersonating a legal identity and leaving by normal transportation, or finding smugglers to leave the domain illegally, with smuggling by sea being the most common illegal method…”

“Impersonation won’t work, there must be chip scanning to use any transportation in Blood Moon Domain. After getting my chip removed, I won’t implant a new one.” Ashe said. “So it has to be illegal channels. Compared to land transport which can be easily intercepted, escaping by sea does seem more likely… Alright, let’s go with that!”

“The Observer escaped Blood Moon Domain by boat after the prison break!”

The paper made a scoffing sound, spewing out wisps of gray mist, as if mocking Ashe’s stupidity:

“You answered incorrectly. Fate questioning ends here. You may now begin asking your question.”

Ashe and Sonya had expected this outcome and weren’t too disappointed. After all, with zero clues, just blindly guessing based on logic meant the chances of getting the right answer were extremely low.contemporary romance

But Sonya was still puzzled: “That can’t be right. If fate questioning asks a question the Sorcerer can’t answer, isn’t that just petty bullying? You must know how to escape Blood Moon Domain, you just can’t recall it at the moment.”

“Maybe the virtual world heard me cursing it just now and is deliberately targeting me.”

“Well you definitely deserved it… But the fact that even the virtual world thinks you can succeed in breaking out and leaving Blood Moon Domain means you don’t have to worry about the Blood Moon Tribunal.”

Ashe realized she was right – not only this question, but the previous ones about how Sylin Kahl died and the falling out between the Observer and Swordswoman also proved that Ashe wouldn’t just end up as tomato sauce at the Tribunal. Otherwise, how could he even have a future?

This was the greatest benefit of fate questioning – you could indirectly learn about your own future circumstances through the questions, which provided tremendous value in assessing your current situation.

With the questioning over, it was now time to ask their own questions.

Looking at the paper in their hands, Sonya said: “Our questions can’t be too outrageous, it’s best to keep them within the scope of the White Silver wing. Although there’s little information about fate questioning, there is one universal rule in the virtual world – you reap what you sow. Since we only got one question right, the reward from the virtual world definitely won’t exceed that.”

Ashe nodded: “It’s best if the answer directly increases our combat power, since the second Blood Moon Tribunal is approaching. Every bit of extra strength increases my chances of survival.”

Speaking of which, both of them were struck by inspiration at the same moment and excitedly said to each other:

“The golden fish!”

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