Mage Manual-Chapter 179 - 159: New Profession - Social Idler_2
Chapter 179: Chapter 159: New Profession – Social Idler_2
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
“Hmm?”
Ash discovered that Selin had marked a record in red ink in the files, which was Heath’s leave of absence. Eight years ago, when Heath was still in middle school, he had taken a half-month self-study leave, during which there were no eyewitness records.
Eight years… eight years ago?
Igula had mentioned that Selin participated in archaeological excavations of relics eight years ago, unearthing some scriptures from the Four Pillars God Sect, but in the same year, the ruins were hit by a storm from the Void Realm, causing most of the findings to be lost.
But Heath from eight years ago was only 17…
Ash had thought that he could succeed in his revenge and unravel the mystery of Heath, but it turned out that Heath was like a nesting doll, unraveling one layer only to find another.
Moreover, Ash also had to consider a possibility: Selin was telling the truth, but it was all lies prepared to deal with the Crime Hunting Hall.
After all, ‘memory alteration’ was a tactic in this world, and knowing that Heath could betray him at any time, Selin might have altered his memory, pushing all responsibility onto Heath and portraying himself as a devout believer who was devoted to his country, making it highly possible.
Although still shrouded in mist, Ash decided to temporarily give up investigating Heath’s background. As Heath’s number one critic and number one secret admirer, the information collected by Selin should be the most complete and detailed at present—that was all there was to Heath in “reality.”
If Heath really had an unknown miraculous adventure, it would have to be either in dreams or… in the Void Realm.
Honestly, Ash was about to leave the Kingdom of Blood Moon, and even if Heath’s background was complicated, it was just someone else’s story to him.
But Ash had a strong premonition that even if he left the Blood Moon, Heath’s past would still haunt him like a shadow. It was like seeing a gun mentioned in a detective story; that gun was bound to go off—the extensive effort Heath put forth couldn’t just be to enjoy sending Ash to Shattered Lake Prison, could it?
Gods of Four Pillars, Heath, sensations, rituals… Ash noted these pieces of information in his notebook. If he didn’t meet anyone related to them, so be it, but if he encountered them in the Void Realm, they couldn’t blame him for being ruthless and deploying the Sword Maiden.
Next came the time to collect spoils. Ash rummaged through and found a total of 4 gold coins, 5 silver coins, a bunch of opulent items that seemed exchangeable for money, and 5 Technique Spirit cocoons.
This demonstrates how the credit currency system has destroyed the traditional industry of “looting” offline. Although physical currency still circulated normally, most people were accustomed to using chips for payments and carried only a minimal amount of cash for emergencies.
Selin’s total assets probably had to be calculated in tens of thousands of gold coins, but he typically only needed to carry a few gold and silver coins to satisfy his Technique Spirits’ feeding needs. There wouldn’t be much money stored at home. Compared to those few gold and silver coins, the luminous watch Selin wore was probably more valuable.
Among the 5 Technique Spirit cocoons, there were 3 two-winged Technique Spirits, 1 one-winged Technique Spirit, and 1 three-winged Technique Spirit! This would have been an excellent haul, but Ash could not feel happy.
Because these Technique Spirit cocoons had chastity locks.
Due to various trade and other needs, Mages had invented many methods of sealing Technique Spirits. The Fluorescent Ball was the most common technique: directly stuffing Technique Spirits into the ball where they would enter a dormant state and their feeding frequency would drop by 70%. For Mages who acquired extra Technique Spirits but didn’t need them immediately, storing them in Fluorescent Balls to save feeding costs was a good choice.
However, the major downside of Fluorescent Balls was the absence of any defense measures. If the ball was damaged, it would lead to the escape of the Technique Spirit, and if someone else got the ball, they could directly control the ownerless Technique Spirit. Technique Spirits in a Fluorescent Ball were like money withdrawn from a bank, with the possibility of being stolen or damaged.
The Technique Spirit cocoons in front of Ash were a more advanced sealing method—encased in cocoons, the Technique Spirits ceased all activity and needed no feeding. More importantly, they had three rotary dial locks on them, only by inputting magic power with the correct password could the elf cocoon be dissolved.
If the password was wrong, the Technique Spirit cocoon would automatically lock up, and only the casting Mage could unlock it. It was said to be equivalent to a Holy Sanctuary Level miracle, thus a two-winged Mage could almost never forcibly break it open, and even if successful, the Technique Spirit cocoon was likely to destruct along with the Technique Spirit.
Perhaps it seemed strange to use a three-winged Holy Realm miracle to seal a Technique Spirit. But in a stable civilized society, Technique Spirits not only held utilitarian value but also had the potential to become luxury goods.
The only one-winged Technique Spirit in the cocoon was such a luxury item. It resembled a cicada with a verdant exterior and hidden golden light—this was a ‘Reverse Moon’ Technique Spirit.
Reverse Moon was a consumable Technique Spirit, vanishing after use, with a very simple effect—returning a designated object’s current status to one month prior.
If used on an elderly Mage, the physcial condition of the Mage would revert to that of a month ago, but the magic power, memories, and Technique Spirits wrapped in the soul would not change. In other words, it could, to some extent, grant the object an additional month of life.
Apart from ‘Reverse Sun’ Technique Spirits being used as emergency healing Technique Spirits, ‘Reverse Moon’ and ‘Reverse Year’ Technique Spirits were regarded as life-extending Technique Spirits without side effects, highly sought after in the market with a high selling price. Ash had heard about this during casual conversations with Sword Maiden, who said, “You can really get rich by picking up trash in Time Continent.”
“This ‘Reverse Moon’ Technique Spirit was clearly stored as a gift, and the other Technique Spirits should have similar purposes; there was even a sought-after Two-winged Technique Spirit of swordsmanship. But after a brief consideration, Ash made a decision that went against the wishes of the Sword Maiden ancestor.”
“Recharge successful! You have earned 8 points.”
“Recharge successful! You have earned 20 points.” × 3
“Recharge successful! You have earned 40 points.”
Since the Technique Spirit cocoons were too big to carry, definitely not fitting in a pocket, and since Ash had no means to dissolve the cocoons, feeding all the Technique Spirits to the greedy system was naturally the best choice.
But 40 points for a Three-winged Technique Spirit? That’s pretty cheap…
After another round of searching and finding no new valuables, Ash began looking through the information Selin had left here. Before his pursuit of ‘Ash Heath,’ Selin had racked his brains guessing Heath’s escape routes and blocking all possible loopholes, so—
Selin might have ‘helped’ him map out the most successful escape route!
Ash quickly found what he was looking for.
“Report from Observation Point 49 of the Void Realm (Top Secret)”
“April 21, 1668, 1:11 PM, water surge observed, the other side of the path is an underground river, abandoned.”
“Report from Observation Point 53 of the Void Realm (Top Secret)”
“April 30, 1668, 5:36 PM, ‘Rabbit’ returned, the other side of the path is a deserted wilderness, safe for hosting the Hunting Festival.”
PS: No praying to Ten Strings, Du Stopping Cup, or Book-Eating Demon, but by combining the power of three people—Miracle: Slacking!
Actually, these past few days have been tough because a family member was hospitalized, 120, NICU, CT scan, general ward care—a lot, which cut down on my writing time. Plus, my mind is really not focused on writing; I’ll take a small break and only update once today. If I ask for leave tomorrow, I’ll ask for leave tonight, as I spend nights reading novels, watching comics, and playing P4G without making excuses.
(｡・`ω´･) So, this slack is really due to the combined power of three people.
I’ll use an easter egg as an apology.
“Enigmatic Girl’s Handbook for Mages”
“Format: Album”
“Content: Various photos of the Final Observer”
“For instance: Photo 4512 (Top 100 selected by the Enigmatic Girl)
Source: Historical meeting photos secretly taken by the Enigmatic Girl while Final Observer and Death Mad Sword Maiden were negotiating.
Photo Caption: Ahhh, that damn woman from that trashy kingdom, how dare she get within five meters of His Excellency the Observer, doesn’t she see her own level, I’m gonna puke, my Observer is looking so handsome, cute, and dazzling today, what a ravishing beauty, am I really allowed to see this for free?”
“Entry Criteria: Female/Love-struck/Meiwa/Devoted/Spirit Faction/Fond of Observer (satisfy any three)”
