Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 417: Blood Moon and Shattered Lake

Stars Kingdom, 9:30 PM, Galaxia National Sports Arena.

This open-air stadium, built by a legendary spellcaster, requires no additional light sources. By merely gathering and reflecting the starlight, it can make the entire arena as bright as daytime, with the spotlight effect achieved by adjusting the mirrors. At this time, 4,600 seats were filled with students and faculty from the colleges of Galaxia. As the smooth arena floor was transformed into a shallow ground by the Miracle of Earth and Wood, an uproar erupted from the crowd. Apart from the students of Truth College who clapped vigorously, the rest of the students couldn’t help but curse.

“Big thanks to the Death Chant Phantom Band for their amazing performance!” Arsenault’s clear and bright voice cruised over the stadium, quelling the students’ commotion. “Next, we have the final segment of the College League opening ceremony—the Meteor Trial!”

“Please welcome the contestants!” another female host announced. “First up is a freshman from Swordflower College’s Swords Sect, two-wings spellcaster, Sonya Therave!”

As Sonya emerged from the tunnel, a pillar of starlight focused on her, making her combat attire glitter brightly. Fireworks erupted at the entrance, forming patterns of swords and roses, and the thunderous applause from thousands of people welcomed the village girl into the combat arena!

Eight massive holographic screens simultaneously displayed her front, side, and angled views. But thanks to the stage makeup that Lois and others had spent an afternoon perfecting, along with the ‘Fixed Day’ spirit’s enhancement, Sonya’s beauty was flawless from any angle. No amount of starlight could overshadow her radiance. She proudly raised her chin, basking in the attention.

As she stepped onto the shallow ground stage, Sonya glanced at the commentary booth, thinking that her greatest luxury two months ago was merely to be seated there, introducing the new generation of Stars in Galaxia.

Even she hadn’t imagined that two months later, she would become one of the Stars herself.

And next, she needed to prove that she was the brightest star!

“The second contestant is a senior from Trajectory College’s Nunchaku Sect, two-wings spellcaster, Colonzo Warren!”

“The third contestant is a senior from Fantasy College’s Gunmanship Sect, two-wings spellcaster, Lydia Azdar!”

…

“The sixth contestant is a junior from Truth College’s water department, two-wings spellcaster Vereen Stella!”

“All six contestants for the first round of the Meteor Trial are two-wings spellcasters!”

When all six contestants took the stage, the most eye-catching was undoubtedly Vereen from Truth College. Not only was she one of the only two underclassmen on the stage—compared to the other seniors, she indeed was.

More importantly, she was a water spellcaster!

And tonight’s Meteor Trial ground was a shallow terrain!

“Insider dealings, definitely insider dealings!” Adelle cursed angrily in the audience, “Chop the League committee into bits and feed them to Lala Fatty!”

“Truth College doesn’t need to cheat in the College League,” sighed Lois. “This is just Truth College’s heritage.”

The match terrain indeed was entirely random, but students from Truth College who studied in the Prophecy Sect didn’t need to interfere with the League committee. They just adjusted the sequence of participants directly to gain the geographic advantage!

Other colleges also wanted to predict the match terrain, but the problem is, the Prophecy Sect has no set learning method. The lucky few who get in are immediately poached by Truth College. After all, Galaxia’s only source of Prophecy Sect knowledge is Truth College, and even those with restraint would be swayed by Truth College’s benefits!

Some might think, is it really necessary to go all out for a league held annually? However, for schools, the College League’s results directly determine next year’s education funding. For students, this might very well be the most glorious moment of their lives, and everyone would give their all!

As a nationally broadcast, annually held competition show with ratings so high that even Delarose’s lead drama gives way, student performance in the league directly impacts their future. The Royal Family’s Starburst Guard, the House of Nobles’ Griffin Squad, and the Barrier legion sweeping the Abyss all pick members from these competitors. Moreover, nobles enjoy injecting new blood through marriages. For instance, each generation of the Stargazer Duke, Duke of Vlozrada, has a partner who is a powerful swordsperson, mostly from a common background rather than noble birth.

However, for this inaugural round of the Meteor Trial, Truth College isn’t going easy on anyone. If the terrain were the gobi, abyss, city, or desert, ordinary spellcasters might get some boosts, but not much. The shallow terrain is practically home turf for water spellcasters. Moreover, since Vereen hails from Truth College, she undoubtedly has some Radiant Golden-level Miracles up her sleeve, giving her a crushing advantage over the other spellcasters!

“Still, this is the Meteor Trial,” Engulite said, folding her arms. “Truth College’s representative is so dominant; she might be the first one to go down.”

Lois and Adelle couldn’t help but nod in agreement, their eyes fixed on the six contestants in the arena.

The College League is divided into three formats: the Meteor Trial, the Stars Trial, and the Celestial Palace Trial. Simply put, the Celestial Palace Trial is a round-robin format where schools are represented by five-member teams, similar to the format Sonya previously participated in during the Friendly Match, showcasing the schools’ overall heritage.

The Stars Trial, on the other hand, features three-person team battles, with three teams fighting simultaneously. This format has the highest intensity, usually involving students who have experienced Abyss Adventures, testing team coordination.

The Meteor Trial is a six-person free-for-all competition. Only the last one standing is considered the winner! As the competition progresses, the number of participants in the Meteor Trial remains at six. Sometimes, of the six in the Meteor Trial, only two have continued winning, while the other four are returning to fight for resurrection opportunities, measuring each contestant’s individual prowess!

Some might wonder why a single-player competition involves six combatants. There are many reasons. For example, at the low-level spellcaster stage, Sect-based weaknesses are very pronounced; a fire spellcaster facing a water spellcaster has almost no chance, a physical spellcaster counters most melee spellcasters, and gun spellcasters are a T0 profession. However, turning a one-on-one duel into a melee reduces the impact of Sect-based weaknesses, introduces many variables, and more comprehensively tests a spellcaster’s combat abilities.

Another minor reason: a multi-person melee is simply more entertaining to watch than a one-on-one duel.

After all, these contestants aren’t Sanctuary spellcasters. Although students go out of their way to add as many special effects as possible for the sake of showing off, to the untrained eye, student competitions still don’t match the dramatics of TV drama. To enhance viewership, the Meteor Trial has experimented with scales ranging from three to a hundred participants, finally settling on six. This number strikes a balance, full of dramatic conflict without overwhelming viewers.

The primary drawback of the six-person format is that the advantage of being the strongest is significantly reduced. After all, the other competitors aren’t foolish; in a zero-sum game, they will naturally team up to eliminate the strongest first.

Thus, the winner of the Meteor Trial is either someone with a formidable combination of strategy, combat power, and networking skills, or…

A genius who absolutely dominates all other participants!

“In the past ten years of opening Meteor Trials, the winners have invariably been students from Truth College,” Vereen said with a smile, donning her translucent azure combat attire. “The senior brothers and sisters have worked hard.”

“Is that so? That’s just great.” Lydia drew her dual guns. “I hadn’t decided on my goal for this year’s League yet, but now I know. My aim is to end Truth College’s winning streak today.”

Colonzo twirled his nunchaku, the silver-tipped ends bursting into flames, indicating some hidden mechanisms in his weapon. “Having a bit of respect for your seniors won’t harm you, junior sister.”

“Oh dear, don’t tell me I’m that unpleasant? Why does everyone want to take me out first? Could it be…” Vereen tilted her head and giggled as she shook out a short rod from her sleeve. It spun once, extending at both ends, and within an eye blink, transformed into a long staff.

Thud!

When the long staff struck the muddy ground, the accumulated water on the entire shallow stage surged madly towards Vereen, transforming into water dragons that coiled around her staff. They protected Vereen while asserting dominance over the stage. At this moment, Vereen appeared like a Witch of the water, while the others seemed like mere ignorant challengers!

Leaving everything else aside, solely based on style and flair, the others were already utterly defeated!

“…Are you jealous of Vereen’s beauty?” Vereen griped her long staff close to her back, accentuating her slender and graceful figure, and with a lazy tone, flaunted her confidence that dismissed everyone else.

“Warlord spellcaster…” The others murmured softly, abandoning any hope of luck. They stared at Vereen with intense caution and determination.

A Warlord spellcaster is not a term referring to a specific Spellcasting Sect but rather a spellcaster who uses melee weapons in conjunction with Nature Spellcasting.

While melee-focused spellcasting sects can also develop Nature Miracles, like a Sword Sect spellcaster wielding a Flame Sword, these miracles are integrated—meaning that there can only be flames if there’s a sword. A Sword Sect spellcaster can’t breathe fire, even if they wanted to fake it by slashing with their fingers.

However, Warlord spellcasters are different. They usually train in a nature-based spellcasting discipline and a melee weapon skill, both independently of each other. For instance, Vereen uses both a long staff and water dragons, but she can still conjure water even without her staff. Her water spells and her long staff technique are not interdependent.

In battle, however, her water miracles and staff strikes complement each other. While you’re trying to counter her water miracle, you get pounded by her long staff. Focusing on defending against her staff will get you blasted by water dragons!

Fighting a Warlord spellcaster is like battling two opponents at once!

This is actually a clever battle system. Nature Spellcasting Sects focus on precise spellcasting and not dynamic reactions, while melee weapon fighting emphasizes dynamic combat and not focused casting. It’s possible to use both simultaneously, but it requires an extremely high level of skill.

Spellcasting Sects have evolved to the point where miracles from just one sect can cover nearly all possibilities. Even the Sword Sect has Self-Healing Miracles. Spellcasters usually only supplement their main sect with spells from other sects for additional functions like mobility, reconnaissance, healing, or finishing moves. They wouldn’t mix completely unrelated Sects just for their battle system. Therefore, those who do double-train in vastly different Sects are often battle-crazed enthusiasts, hence the term Warlord.

Vereen may look delicate and pretty, specializing in the water department, but deep down, she’s undoubtedly an adrenaline junkie who enjoys fighting. She’s probably cracked the skulls of countless Blade Fish Dragons with her long staff!

“Sonya, junior sister, may I call you that?” Vereen suddenly said, “Since we’re both young and pretty, let me give you some advice—when they gang up on me, you’d better find a way to take at least one of them out.”

Lydia quickly glanced at Sonya, then sneered at Vereen, “What’s this? A top student from Truth College resorting to sowing discord and forming cliques? Forget it. I’ll admit you’re the strongest right now, so you have to be the first to go!”

“I don’t talk to ugly people,” Vereen laughed. “Sonya, junior sister, you’re just a first-year student who recently advanced to two-wings. In their eyes, you’re the weakest. Suppose—just suppose—they do eliminate me. They would immediately turn on you so you don’t get to reap any benefits.”

“In fact, they might even target you before eliminating me. Because in the Meteor Trial rules, only participants who have defeated others get a chance in the Revival Match. Even for insurance, they have no reason to let you, the newest and freshest junior sister, off the hook.”

“Look at you, using a Wooden Sword instead of a real one,” Vereen continued. “I don’t know if you’re deliberately showing weakness or if the Wooden Sword has some significance, but showing weakness in the arena will only make you a target for others.”

Sonya raised an eyebrow, “Thanks for the advice.”

“Therave, junior sister, don’t fall for it!” Lydia said. “She wants us to internalize our disputes, giving her a chance to pick us off one by one. Right now, Vereen is the strongest. If we don’t kick her out straight away, we’re bound to lose!”

“Don’t worry.” Sonya gripped the handle of her Wooden Sword. “I’ll take down the strongest first.”

Despite the bold words, the spellcasters were clearly distancing themselves from one another. Verbal promises meant nothing here. One of the main attractions of the Meteor Trial is the deceit among participants. In a zero-sum game, forming a genuine alliance among the six contestants is impossible.

That’s why Vereen wasn’t worried about being ganged up on. With just a slight nudge, any so-called alliance would crumble like sand. She was confident—in terms of combat ability, tactics, eloquence, and situational awareness, she was the strongest among the six. This Meteor Trial’s victory would be hers to claim, effortlessly.

“The contestants are growing impatient after a bout of verbal sparring. Who will become the meteor and who will be reduced to ashes? Let’s find out!” Arsenault’s voice boomed enthusiastically. “Countdown begins at five! Five, four…”

“Three.” Vereen gripped her long staff, nine water dragons forming behind her.

“Two.” Lydia subtly retreated, her gun aimed at everyone.

“One.” The hilt of Sonya’s Wooden Sword glowed with an ancient brilliance.

“Begin!”

Boom!

Blood Moon!

A surge of a blood-red moon!

As a crimson crescent shimmered across the water’s surface, everyone was momentarily stunned. It wasn’t until a muffled thud sounded from outside the ring that they snapped back to reality.

Vereen had been knocked off the stage, crashing into the outer wall, gripping the broken pieces of her long staff in both hands. A ghastly wound seemed to split her from upper left to lower right. Thankfully, the “Death-Prevention” miracle had been invoked on the contestants, protecting all vital organs. But the terror in her tear-filled eyes made it clear just how deeply the attack had scarred her mentally.

“…What miracle was that?” Colonzo asked.

“Blood Moon Riptide,” Sonya replied, shaking off the water droplets from her Wooden Sword. “This miracle requires a large amount of water. I actually thought this shallow water terrain was designed to give me, a first-year student, an advantage.”

“It’s not in the Star Miracles Directory. Something you created?” Lydia inquired.

“Yes, inspired by others’ experiences.” The Red-Haired Sword Princess said, “So, since I’ve defeated the strongest…”

“Next, it’s your turn, you four weaklings.”