Hard or Not Recommendation Guide

On an island in the Sea of Knowledge, the battle had reached its final moments.

"The difference between sword art and butchery lies in precision."

Professor Tello Zan's teachings seemed to echo by her ear. Sonia kept her breathing as steady as possible to prevent her movements from deforming, quietly gripped the Wooden Sword in her hand, circulated her Spell Power until it boiled, and thrust with all her strength!

The Wooden Sword sank into Ash's back and pierced through his chest!

"Mm!"

Ash let out a muffled groan. The intense pain nearly made him unable to keep hold of anything with either hand. The Void Realm did not block spellcasters' sense of pain. In fact, because it involved naked soul-to-soul contact, pain was generally amplified by 10% to 20% compared to reality. It was entirely possible for a spellcaster to suffer excessive pain in the Void Realm and die of pain in reality!

A faint purple glow emerged from the tip of the Wooden Sword that had pierced Ash's body, and then—

"Reverse Ripple Sword!"

With Sonia's sharp cry, the Ripple Sword energy on the Wooden Sword erupted!

The Green Orc, whose shoulders Ash had seized and whose waist Sonia's sword tip had pierced, let out a hysterical roar. Its huge, muscular body burst apart like a popped balloon, and its lower half was blown clean away.

Yet the ferocity in its eyes only grew fiercer. Its hands clamped tightly around Ash's throat, nearly wringing his neck dry like a wet towel—

Sonia decisively pulled out her Wooden Sword and stepped forward with a slash. The Orc's neck, which had been nearly impossible to cut into before, now split apart like cake. As the Orc's head flew away, Ash dropped onto the ground and gulped for air.

"Are you all right?"

"Other than reliving my short life in my mind and hearing what sounded like my family calling for me, nothing much."

Ash coughed twice and looked down at where Sonia had pierced him. Naturally, even his trench coat was undamaged now, and the wound had healed in an instant.

He had learned during his first battle that injuries suffered in the Void Realm were illusory. As long as they did not die on the spot, spellcasters could recover almost instantly.

Of course, every Miracle came at a cost. Ash noticed that his palms had become much more transparent, which meant he had expended a great deal of Soul Energy.

If he suffered another injury this severe, he would probably have to give up his first time in the Void Realm for real.

He looked at the Orc's head, which was about to dissipate, still feeling lingering fear.

This Green Orc had been the strongest enemy they had encountered in the Void Realm. If Ash had not taken the initiative to sacrifice himself as a Taunt Follower, allowing Sonia to seize the chance to attack, it would still have been unclear who would win.

Honestly, in terms of combat power, this Green Orc was not all that different from the gunner they had met before. Both were low-level spellcasters with very simplistic fighting styles.

And precisely because of that, Void Realm Exploration had judged it a Worth Visiting adventure target, giving Ash a false impression.

Then the Void Realm immediately taught Ash a lesson: everything in the Void Realm carried risks. The waters of the Sea of Knowledge ran deep. You couldn't handle them, kid.

Even among low-level spellcasters, the gap between individuals could be greater than the gap between races.

Ash and Sonia could easily deal with the gunner, yet the Green Orc had beaten them into disarray because its specialized department happened to be the Asceticism Department, the one that countered them most severely! Its green skin had taken on the color of wood, hard as though it came with its own armor!

Not even Sonia could do more than scratch it. They simply could not hurt it.

More importantly, the Orc possessed abundant combat experience and seemed to have learned Fist Fighting as well. Whenever Sonia tried to seriously injure it with Ripple Sword, it either tangled with Ash or charged directly at Sonia. In short, it forced Sonia to hold back and tied her hands.

As the battle dragged on, the two of them became increasingly exhausted while the Orc only grew fiercer. They naturally sensed something was wrong. After a brief discussion, they decided Ash would take the initiative to entangle it and block its vision, creating an opening for Sonia to attack.

The tactic was a success. The Orc died, Sonia improved her skill, and Ash experienced a rare life-flashing-before-his-eyes moment. Everyone had grown.

Once the battle ended, it was naturally time to search the loot. The Orc had left behind two Wolf Fang Ornaments, each containing a Spell Spirit:

Oak Skin

One-Winged Art Spirit

Restriction: The spellcaster must possess skin tissue that covers muscle.

Basic Effect: Transforms the skin into a bark-like material. While standing on the ground, 10% of kinetic impacts suffered by the skin can be transferred into the earth and dispersed.

Passive Effect: Daily exercise can transform the skin into bark.

Note: Wind, frost, blazing sun, bitter cold—all hardships bestowed by nature will make you ever more unbreakable.

Both Spell Spirits were Oak Skin. Ash found it rather strange. "How does it have two identical Spell Spirits?"

Sonia explained, "Because what the Asceticism Department values is not a Spell Spirit's active effect, but its passive effect. Passive effects can stack. So, in order to train their bodies to the limit as quickly as possible, Ascetics often try every possible way to acquire multiple identical Spell Spirits to speed up their cultivation."

"Do you need them?"

"No. Oak Skin isn't worth much, and it doesn't suit me. Even if I wanted to use Bitter Weakness Spell Spirits to improve my physique, I would have better choices. Besides, Oak Skin is way too ugly."

The important part was that it was too ugly, right... Ash recalled the Orc's wrinkled skin, like a sheet of paper folded hundreds of times and then unfolded, and felt some resistance as well.

It was not that he cared much about his looks, but that was ugly enough to ruin the cityscape.

Thus, the two Spell Spirits naturally went into Ash's pocket as reserve funds for recharging.

Sonia picked up a scroll the Orc had dropped. After taking two looks, she tossed it to Ash with a disgusted expression and muttered, "Don't tell me you can absorb even this kind of Sorcerer's Manual?"

Ash took it and immediately shuddered from head to toe.

The scroll left behind by that Orc was, how should he put it... elegantly, an Encyclopedia of Beauties; properly, Research Data on Otherworldy Customs Industry; crudely, a Hard or Not Recommendation Guide.

The beginning of the scroll contained artistic photographs of a dozen or so Orcs. Though the aesthetic was rather rough, Ash had not seen any lewd pictures for two or three days, so he could still appreciate their wild beauty.

The middle was where it became interesting. There were humans, Elves, Ogres, furry ears, scales, wings, horns, and even spiders—no wonder this Orc was an Ascetic. Other than Ascetics, who else had the ability to conduct such a detailed and diverse investigation?

But there was one thing Ash found unsatisfactory: this Orc's taste was far too narrow. It only pursued "big." Big was good, big was beautiful. Not a single woman in the scroll was under two meters tall. They were all towering giants Ash could only look up at.

"If you like it, why not take it back and read it slowly?" Sonia folded her arms, unable to hide the contempt in her eyes. "Heh, men..."

"Soon. I'll finish looking soon. Wait for me."

Though he said that, the scroll was extremely long. It had records on at least several hundred women, more women than Ash had ever known. Truly, the dry died of drought while the flooded drowned...

When Ash turned to the end of the scroll, he saw an ordinary Orc woman. She was very special—her photograph was the only one in the entire scroll where the subject was wearing clothes.

Based on the information before it, this probably meant the Ascetic Orc Arcanist had not engaged in reproductive activities with her.

In the photograph, she held the hands of two Orc cubs, with a Wooden Cabin behind her. She was somewhat short and plump, but looked very kind. Even when she smiled and revealed her vicious fangs, she did not seem threatening in the slightest. Wearing a filthy apron, she was obviously an Orc middle-aged peasant woman.

Because there was no written introduction at all, Ash could only guess: had this Ascetic Orc Arcanist fallen in love with this Orc middle-aged peasant woman? Then why had he not become her husband? Was it because the Orc Arcanist was about to die, or because he had contracted some illness from frequent health maintenance?

What a strange Orc Arcanist...

When the scroll turned into wisps of smoke and dissipated, Ash gained two new skills as well.

Secret of Pleasure (Only effective on females over two meters tall)

Wild Instinct

Ash stared at "Secret of Pleasure (Only effective on females over two meters tall)," utterly dumbfounded.

How should he put it? Although he had no driving experience whatsoever, he had obtained an A1 license for large vehicles. From today onward, he was a cloud driver with a license.

The second skill, Wild Instinct, was quite useful. It was not an Orc racial trait, but a combat skill the Orc Arcanist had honed through years of battle. In close combat, it could effectively evade sudden attacks from outside one's field of vision.

After absorbing the Sorcerer's Manual, this Inheritance Island was about to sink as well. Sonia sat at the stern and looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "You really can absorb that Sorcerer's Manual... Seems the breadth of your three views is quite broad..."

"Not really. I just have relatively flexible three views."

In truth, Ash had vaguely sensed that something was off. Sword Maiden could not absorb either of the two Sorcerer's Manuals, while he absorbed every one he encountered. Clearly, the problem was not the conservative Sword Maiden, but Ash, who was so open he was practically a public bus.

Ash figured it was a hidden feature of the game Aurora's Sorcerer Manual, but the game had never displayed any relevant notification, so he could only muddle through and brush Sword Maiden off.

"Let's go to the next area. I hope we run into an Inheritance Island for a Swordsman... or an Encounter Island with Sword Art Spell Spirits would be fine too... As long as it isn't an Inheritance Island for an Ascetic," Sonia said lazily, leaning against the Boat in complaint.

Ash nodded. It was hard not to support that suggestion—encountering enemies who made their attacks bounce off was truly an awful experience. They might as well run into a Mud Fish Dragon that would kill them instantly.

He opened Void Realm Exploration and checked the surrounding area prompts. Suddenly, he saw an orange prompt beneath the area to their right, one he had never seen before—

Wait a Moment

Sonia waited several dozen Seconds. When she realized the Boat showed no sign of moving, she could not help finding it strange. "Why aren't we leaving yet?"

"We need to wait a while before we can leave."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"How long?"

"I don't know."

"...Fine, then we'll wait." Sonia stretched lazily. "Come to think of it, I have something I wanted to discuss with you. I forgot about it earlier."

"What do you want to discuss?"

"My daily training." Sonia folded her arms. "Can you cancel my Forced Training arrangement?"

Why were game characters like this now? She actually did not want to generate surplus value.

Truly the laziest batch of game characters I had ever seen.

I never encountered anything like this when I played mobile games before.

Many Thoughts flashed through Ash's mind, but outwardly, he interlaced his fingers and assumed the posture of someone listening to public opinion. "Of course. I respect your wishes, Sword Maiden—but I'd like to hear your reasons."