Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Employment Contract”

“Party A: Annan Dolan”

“Party B: Ashe Heath/Igor Bukin/Archibald Harvey”

“Clause 1: Party A is required to ensure the personal safety of Party B.”

“Clause 2: Party A must guarantee Party B eight hours of Rest daily.”

“Clause 3: Party B has the right to autonomously decide their course of action when injured.”

“.”

“Clause 39: Party B has the right to refuse unreasonable mating demands.”

“Subject to the above clauses, Party A may command Party B to do anything, but such commands must not violate the aforementioned clauses.”

“Contract duration: 101 days, start time: May 2, 1668, 19:15, end time: August 10, 1668, 19:15.”

As the three contracts dissolved into golden light and vanished into the air, the Purple-clad Girl Annan pressed a button, and the Arcane Lock Collars of the three individuals named Ashe were simultaneously released.

“Welcome to the team. Let us get along well for the next 101 days.”

Annan spread her arms as if to welcome them: “I am the head of the Funeral Firm, Annan Dolan. You can call me Director, Miss, or Boss, but I prefer another title—Purple Moth. This is my Butler, Banjeet Mikalis, also the second member of the firm.”

The young Butler politely nodded to them and handed them each a handkerchief.

Igor accepted the handkerchief with a cold demeanor, feeling somewhat reluctant—time was indeed tight, and they were under someone else’s roof and had to bow their heads. The other party was adamant about not modifying the ‘absolute control’ clause, so Igor could only add clauses to protect their rights.

Besides, Annan’s reasoning was sound: she needed them for some very secretive tasks, and without having been granted control, there was no basis for mutual trust. How could she possibly reveal her true needs?

Ashe, staring at the handkerchief, suddenly asked a strange question: “Is it also 1668 here?”

“Hmm?” Annan accurately captured the keyword: “Also?”

“We come from the Blood Moon Kingdom,” Igor’s eyes flickered, “according to the Blood Moon calendar, today is also May 2, 1688.”

The fact that different nations shared the same calendar was intriguing, hinting at secrets from ancient times, so everyone silently agreed to drop the topic.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask for a long time,” Ashe said. “Despite being from different nations, why do we share the same language and have similar writing systems?”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Ashe with subtle expressions. Annan, with high emotional intelligence, directly posed the question, “It seems the Blood Moon Kingdom is quite a barbaric place, haven’t they popularized basic education yet?”

“I won’t refute the first part of your statement, but he really did fall through the cracks of basic education,” Igor sighed. “Please don’t generalize his individual behavior to all of the Blood Moon people.”

Ashe still looked confused, but at that moment, Red Cap Cleos approached and clarified his doubts, “The original written language came from the names of spirits. Once a Sorcerer fully masters a spirit, they learn the true name and pronunciation of that spirit. Hence, in any nation ruled by Sorcerers, the languages and pronunciations are largely similar.”

Annan also commented, “The characters you didn’t recognize just now are mostly ‘extended characters’ that have never become the names of spirits. If I’m not mistaken, the number of ‘extended characters’ is decreasing every year, gradually being replaced by the ‘root characters’ of new spirits.”

“So, there is a set of root characters in this world?” Ashe had a moment of realization. “Then who created these root characters…?”

“That’s an excellent question. Every generation of Sorcerers tries to unveil the mysteries of the spirits. When you become interested, it means you’re also contributing to this great cause,” Annan encouraged. “As long as you follow my commands for these 101 days, afterward, you’ll not only gain your freedom but perhaps also the power to know the Truth. I won’t let you down.”

Adapting on the fly is crucial when it comes to offering incentives, and on this front, the Firm’s director indeed had a Talent for exploiting people—though her heart didn’t seem hard enough. It appeared that ‘touching fish’ under her leadership would be quite an easy task… Ashe quickly assessed the new boss’s various attributes.

At that moment, Cleos looked at Annan and asked, “Annan, you said before that you only picked up three people from the exotic lands through the ‘Gospel’?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“Besides the three of them, we found another person from the exotic lands.”

While everyone was still in shock, a Red Cap led a little girl with white hair over to them. Ashe and the others recognized her immediately—she was the calm and collected little Drama Queen from the ritual.

The Drama Queen hung her head low, clutching the hem of her dress nervously, and then timidly glanced up at Annan. Her large eyes were filled with fear, like a trembling little lamb, eliciting a sense of pity from those around her.

Annan’s tone instantly became as sweet as melting ice cream: “There, there, let sister check if your ears are hurt.”

She examined the back of the little girl’s ears and found no countdown, but since Cleos mentioned it, it couldn’t be false. Annan quickly confirmed through the ‘Gospel’ that the little girl was indeed from the exotic lands.

Because she could not find any past for the little girl!

Only those who had not lived in the Gospel Kingdom would have no past records in the ‘Gospel’!

“There, there, can you tell sister why you are here? Where do your parents live? I can take you back to them.”

The white-haired little girl looked at her timidly and shook her head: “I… I don’t know… I was caught by the bad guys…”

“Where were you before you were caught by the bad guys, what were you doing?”

“I don’t know… I forgot…” She shook her head in distress: “I don’t remember anything.”

Annan didn’t show whether she believed or disbelieved the girl, instead, she opened the ‘Gospel’ and spent points to conduct a search.

The conclusion from the Gospel was that the little girl was not lying.

She had truly lost her memory!

“It could be due to an accident while transmigrating through the Virtual Realm Passage or when caught by Cultists, leading to amnesia,” Annan turned to look at Ashe and the others: “Answer me, did you see her before coming to the Gospel Kingdom?”

“No,” the three of them responded in unison.

Before Ashe could process the situation, his mouth had already reacted.

Igor’s expression shifted slightly—it was an easily discernible shock, but indeed very effective. Annan’s control over them was more direct and thorough than imagined.

“Have you checked her body?”

“There are no traces of Miracle or spirit.” Cleos stated, “Theoretically, she should pose no threat, but…”

Annan understood Cleos’ concerns. Trespassers like Ashe and his companions, who had burned their bridges, were one thing, but a white-haired little girl of unknown origin was indeed a very dangerous bomb. If it were any other time, Annan would also suggest letting the little girl sleep eternally in her dreams, for after all, what family would be willing to take in a child from the Exotic Lands?

But as it happened, Annan needed People from the Exotic Lands, and children were more suitable candidates for her needs than adults.

She thought for a moment and asked, “Do you remember your name?”

After a moment of silence, the white-haired little girl said, “Lise, my name is Lise.”

“Annan.” Cleos couldn’t help but interject, “A contract signed by a minor has no legal force.”

“Only Fabric does not recognize the contractual power of minors, but the basic Virtual Realm Contract does not care about the age of the parties.” Annan extended her hand to the little girl, “Shake hands.”

However, the little girl stepped back in fear, as if Annan’s palm concealed needles.

The beautiful Purple Moth slightly narrowed her eyes, her smile becoming even more radiant, “What’s the matter, don’t you like shaking hands with sister? If you shake hands with sister, she will be willing to take care of you, buy you pretty clothes, tasty snacks, and even tell you fairy tales to lull you to sleep at night~”

Igor watched from the sidelines with a cold gaze. Although this woman named Annan seemed somewhat naïve in her methods, her heart was definitely decisive and cunning. First, she sold them to the Four Pillars Cult, then she colluded with the Red Caps to attack the Cult and rescue them, and after that, she let the Red Caps threaten them, only to appear herself as their savior… It was a roller coaster of emotions and events.

The minds of the People from the Exotic Lands, already groggy, were turned into a muddle of Lala Fatty sauce after such a rapid succession of bewildering events, leaving them utterly incapable of making any accurate judgments.

Upon seeing Annan, who had trafficked them, actually willing to rescue them in their hour of need, it was easy to trigger a ‘victim mentality’ where they could be so moved by the perpetrator’s kindness that they would lose their reason and naturally sign a humiliating slave Contract.

Fortunately, all three of them were hardened villains who had clawed their way out of the manure pit; even if not at their best, it was almost a survival instinct for them to see through such basic deceit—Ashe wouldn’t be fooled either.

Although the plan failed, this did not mean Annan was incompetent.

Her ability to quickly regain composure and negotiate with Igor, even willing to make certain concessions to expedite the signing of the contract, was enough for Igor to take a second look at her—greedy but not avaricious, indifferent to sunk costs, not coveting the best outcome, always able to make the optimal decision, she had the makings of a ‘perfectly rational person.’

Therefore, Igor knew that if they did not sign the contract, Annan would definitely not let them go—putting oneself in another’s shoes, if Igor could not secure a ‘scarce resource,’ he would rather destroy it than let it slip away.

Similarly, if the girl named Lise refused Annan’s invitation, then Annan would no longer treat her as a cute little girl but would purely see her as a ‘scarce resource.’

One can be gentle and kind to a little girl, but when dealing with a scarce resource, one only needs to make the optimal decision.

Perhaps sensing danger, the white-haired little girl retreated even more, her lips pouting in distress, tears nearly spilling over.

She looked around, then suddenly burst into tears and lunged toward one of them—

“Daddy!”