Mage Manual-Chapter 1441 - 1051: You Broke the Rules!

"Earlier you said you developed the ’Personality Analysis Model’ together with the Witch and Vishi."

Ash closed his eyes, listening to the heartbeat of the God of Silver Lamp: "I wasn’t aware of this, and the Sword Maiden surely didn’t know either... While monitoring our personality changes, you were also looking for the Sword Maiden’s weak points, right?"

"The Sword Maiden doesn’t specialize in mental or soul factions." Weiser replied calmly, "There’s just no necessity to seek her out... We can’t say something’s wrong just because we didn’t involve her, right?"

"And besides, with your favoritism towards her," her voice carried a hint of jealousy, "what meaning does it have whether we exclude her or not?"

"What about Vishi then?"

"What’s wrong with Vishi?"

"The Witch might indeed propose to open the treasury completely to us, as she values us more than the Kingdom of Gospel." Ash said: "But she isn’t a bad person. Since I let Vishi join the team, even if the Witch hasn’t recognized the Ghost Prophet, she wouldn’t treat Vishi as an instrument, let alone an enemy."

"Given her personality, she would never think of letting Vishi plunder the treasury alone and bear the sin, unless someone constantly feeds her the notion of Vishi’s danger and utility."

"Gradually, the Witch no longer sees Vishi as a companion or even a person, but sees her as a valuable gem, a stain to be discarded."

"Among us, those capable of enchanting the Witch without her noticing are only Dedarose, Vishi, and you, the one who once wreaked havoc in Senluo."

The Silver Lamp remained silent, simply tightening her embrace around Ash’s arms, as though trying to merge him into her being.

"Your prowess isn’t merely enchanting the Witch, but hiding personal motives within public interests."

Ash said: "Given our opposition against Dazzling Star, looting national treasuries to bolster our strength is indeed a highly cost-effective approach. Even though I’m reluctant, if Dazzling Star exerts even a little effort against us, my moral bottom line will surely prioritize our survival."

"Having Vishi handle the looting makes sense, after all, she’s the expert among us, and looting inherently involves killing. The Sword Maiden Witch may not mind, but it’s better not to get one’s hands dirty if possible. Moreover, you are the Divine Being, so the only demigod available is Vishi... unless I go."

"A flawless proposal; when the Witch first suggested it, even I thought it was a good idea. Let Vishi bear all the sins, and we remained clean..."

Weiser asked: "So what personal motive do I have?"

She had already assumed it was she who enchanted the Witch with this idea.

"Even though I can rationally accept it, emotionally, I’d still resent Vishi for once again harming the masses, even if it’s for our sake." Ash said: "I might even feel it’s my responsibility, since the only one capable of restraining her is me, yet in the end, I let her loose."

"The dual impact of guilt and disgust means I at most see Vishi as a prisoner, a companion, a comrade, but I can never develop any intimate relationship with her."

"I don’t know what other plans you have. I can only be certain that after Vishi is kicked out, you will next target the Sword Maiden." Ash said: "Cause a conflict between Vishi and the Sword Maiden? Enchant the Witch to trigger a clash with the Sword Maiden? I cannot guess."

"With only the Witch left... you surely have a plan to deal with her too."

After a brief silence, Weiser faintly said: "So in your eyes, am I really such a bad woman who ruins your relationships?"

"Are you?" Ash held her tight, listening attentively to her increasingly fast heartbeat.

"Driving everyone away, leaving just me with you, is one possibility."

Weiser took a deep breath and calmly answered, "But there’s another possibility, where everyone willingly stays by your side."

"What do you mean?"

"You can’t suppress the conflicts; the more you delay, the thicker and sharper the iceberg becomes, it’ll one day collapse under its own weight, and a rushing tidal wave will destroy everything." Weiser said: "I just want to help train them early... and if they are willing to concede, I actually want to be with them too, as long as you’re happy."

"Of course, whether they are willing to stay or not, I also hope you can love me more."

Weiser softly bit her lip, tightly embracing him, "But what’s wrong with wanting the person you like to love you more?"

"There’s nothing wrong." Ash whispered in her embrace: "How could there be anything wrong?"

"Now that you know, will you hate me?" Weiser retracted the silver light, her heartbeat becoming slow and heavy: "Or do you still see me as that Silver Lamp who plots against you constantly?"

"I don’t hate, I just fear."

Weiser was slightly stunned, a hint of bitterness on her lips, "It’s true, having someone like me around, constantly playing tricks and interfering in your life, anyone would surely be afraid, wouldn’t they?"

"No, I’m not afraid of you interfering in my life." Ash looked up at her, saying: "I’m afraid you’ll change who you are because of me."

"Remember when we first met? I had just gained the power of the Tribulation Fire Technique, representing the Holy Temple against the Four Pillars God Sect, only to be slapped down by you right upon meeting."

Weiser couldn’t help but chuckle, "You were quite arrogant back then."

"I’m not saying you were righteous then. Later you defected from the Four Pillars God Sect, being hunted by us all the way, wreaking havoc across several factions, repeatedly facing life-threatening situations. Despite numerous obstacles, you remained steadfast in your doomsday ideology." Ash said: "I felt then, whether as a companion or an enemy, you were the true Silver Lamp... You shone as brightly as a dazzling beam of silver light."

Weiser was stunned, her expression a mix of touched and guilty, turning her head to avoid his gaze, she weakly said, "It seems like this is the first time you’ve said something like this to me..."

"I’m not complimenting you, be serious." Ash said irritably, "So I’m really glad to see you can be reborn. No matter how troublesome it is, I will definitely reshape your body, because I want you to start over."

"Before, you had no choice but to follow the path of the Silver Lamp left to you by the Gray Fox Era, but this time with your rebirth, you will be free of any constraints... you can finally choose your own life."

"And now, where is your mind focused?"

Ash chuckled bitterly, "Trying every way possible to win my favor... Compared to destroying the world, focusing your attention on me is already considered turning over a new leaf, after all, you’ll only be causing trouble for me alone."

"But I’ve seen the Doomsday Silver Lamp, I still remember the silver light breaking through the Silent Spiral." He gently nestled into Weiser’s embrace, "As someone you like, I feel a bit delighted but more regretful and afraid... I’m afraid I might become your blemish, overshadowing your brilliance."

"If you become dim because of this, that would be an insult to the Doomsday Silver Lamp."

Ash took a deep breath and smelled the faint fragrance from the azure bow tie. "The silver lamp that breaks the eternal night should not lose its color because of me."

Ash’s demands for Weiser were different from others.

If the Sword Maiden was to improve together, the Witch still needed to grow, then the Silver Lamp should be the guide leading everyone forward. Her decisiveness, vision, wisdom, and experience, only Vishi among the operators could compare, but unless Ash became completely clueless, he would never let Vishi lead the team.

So seeing the Silver Lamp changed because of him, Ash was really somewhat saddened, even beginning to doubt whether he was really a trash can, a perfectly good Silver Lamp becoming obscured because of him.

"... Do you really think so?" Weiser asked softly.

"In the Dead City of Senluo, when you confessed to me, if I hadn’t pretended to sleep at that time and asked you to leave with me, to stop executing the doomsday plan," Ash countered, "Would you have left with me?"

After a moment of silence, Weiser shook her head firmly, "No!"

After exchanging the most genuine thoughts in their hearts, both seemed to relax, their soul bodies gently overlapping. After pondering for a moment, Weiser suddenly said, "You know, many Six-winged Gods of the past didn’t have Six-winged Divine Beings."

"Huh?" Ash blinked, "Is it difficult to upgrade to Divine Being status?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Extremely difficult," Weiser said, "Wild Six-winged Divine Beings are extremely rare and hard to capture, upgrading a Five-winged Divine Being takes millions of years, most Divine Lords simulate the power of Six-winged Divine Beings with World Secret Domain. But in modern times, Divine Lords generally have Six-winged Divine Beings."

"Supreme Star has just entered the seventh layer of Void Realm, there’s absolutely no possibility of a Seven-winged Divine Being being born now, and upgrading her Six-winged Divine Being to Seven-winged would be unimaginably difficult. So for a long time, she won’t possibly have a Seven-winged Divine Being."

Weiser held Ash’s face, "Lord Senluo is really amazing, the mechanism for Great Skill Divine Beings conceived by him not only makes it easier to birth Divine Beings with compound powers, more importantly, Divine Beings have subjective initiative, there’s a possibility for them to ascend spontaneously."

Ash’s heart was moved, "Do you want..."

"Even if I obtain a Mage body in the future, I’m afraid I won’t be separate from the Silver Lamp." Weiser said, "I want to try ascending to Six-winged Divine Being, or even to Seven-winged Divine Being. This way, in the future war with Supreme Star, I can be your shining Silver Lamp."

Seven-winged Supreme and Seven-winged Divine Beings are completely different concepts. If the Seven-winged Supreme is a highly industrialized modern country, then the Seven-winged Divine Being is a strategic weapon. Without strategic weapons, a modern country can still crush its enemy with an army, but if two modern countries go to war, the one with strategic weapons will definitely have an absolute advantage!

"Isn’t it hard for Divine Beings to ascend?"

Ash felt some concern, even though the Silver Lamp gained new powers from Hell Trial, she was still only a Five-winged Divine Being now.

"Very hard, it’s a path never walked by anyone before, I only have a vague idea so far." Weiser smiled brightly, "But it’s precisely because it’s difficult that there’s meaning in the challenge."

Ash looked at her with wide eyes, smiled and asked, "Will it still be an illusion this time?"

"If you can’t keep up with my pace of ascension." Weiser hugged his head tightly, her mouth curled upward, "I’ll keep you living in my illusion."

"Oh, by the way, even though I’ll focus on ascending, I won’t neglect competing for your affection either."

"Huh?"

"You agreed with me just now." Weiser chuckled softly, "What’s wrong with wanting the person you like to love you more?"

Bang!

The study door was suddenly pushed open, Weiser almost immediately pushed Ash away, turning to see the angry Witch leading the Sword Maiden inside.

"You’re cheating, Weiser!" Diya shouted, "Get off Ash!"

"Cheating how?" Ash was bewildered.

"Let’s talk outside, Weiser." Sonia gestured, turning to leave the study.

Ash wanted to follow them out but was pressed back into the chair by Weiser, "It’s none of your business, aren’t you still looking for traces?"

"I am, but... it really has nothing to do with me? What did you cheat just now?"

"Don’t ask about girl matters too much." Weiser smiled with curved brows and eyes, lowered her head, kissed Ash’s cheek lightly, transformed into a silver light and vanished into the study, reappearing outside the study doors.