Sorcerer’s Handbook

So far, the updates have included the Art Ranking, Family Ranking, Ranking of Schemes, Happiness Ranking, Evil Arts Ranking, Assassination Ranking, last night’s update of The Tough Ranking, and now, the latest update of the Culprits Ranking.

Although Ashe appeared in the first seven ranking lists (sometimes even more than the main character), he never actually made it onto any list. His only ranking was as part of Annan’s work, making it seem like his sole positive contribution in the Gospel evaluation system was his association with Annan.

Last night, Annan and Ashe were preoccupied with serious matters, so they missed the update of The Tough Ranking, which turned out to be the right choice-there was no new intelligence.

The individuals ranked on The Tough Ranking had nothing to do with strength, ideals, or even personal will. The sole criterion was ‘luck,’ though whether it was good or bad luck was debatable. These individuals, without exception, survived numerous trials but always endured great suffering. Disabilities were a basic requirement, amnesia was common, and many had experienced multiple Art Ranking incidents. Perhaps people had forgotten, but one key reason the works on the Art Ranking made it onto the list was because the crime scenes were left with nothing but the art pieces.

In retrospect, although the Family Ranking members were all necromancers, they were at least half-alive; the deaths in the Ranking of Schemes, while numerous, couldn’t amount to the population of a city. And the later rankings were even less significant. No matter how formidable the Echoers on the Evil Arts Ranking were, how many could they kill in a lifetime? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand?

In comparison, the Art Ranking’s works had a background of one devastated city after another, with each city’s population counted in the millions. Only through such massive sacrifices could these art pieces gain their historical significance. The number of casualties from all the “evil rankings” combined couldn’t match the death toll of a single ranked piece on the “good ranking” Art Ranking. Rather than calling this the Gospel’s dark humor, it might be more accurate to say individual concepts of good and evil are insignificant echoes in the grand historical tide.

The Tough Ranking and the Art Ranking are of the same type of benevolent rankings.

Although all the ranked individuals ultimately survived, they would personally witness the disasters claiming the lives of millions. The term “tough” referred not only to their resilience but also to the cruelty of fate towards them.

Incidentally, although Ashe from the Gospel rendered The Tough Ranking ineffective, he didn’t kill the ranked individuals. Instead, he slightly altered their future to let them perish along with their loved ones in the tsunami of calamity.