Mage Manual-Chapter 577 - 468 The Unusual Witch and Observer

Even though two hours had passed, Sonia, who had descended into the Void Realm, still couldn’t recover from her shock.

Now the whole Jiale City...no, the entire Kingdom of Stars was murmuring the name of Demi!

All citizens watching the live broadcast of the competition had witnessed the birth of another Starry Sword Saint!

What’s the concept of a Holy Sanctuary Mage?

Even her teacher, Professor Trozan, was only at the Holy Sanctuary level!

It’s worth noting that Sword Flower University has only four Holy Sanctuary professors, yet it has the most professors at this level among universities other than Truth University. Other universities, on average, only have one or two. Sword Flower University, however, is often criticized by other universities because the treatment for Holy Sanctuary Mages here is "good pay for little work." Professor Trozan, for example, spent this year casually taking on just two students, freely pursuing his studies in magic. How is that different from simply maintaining Holy Sanctuary Mages without purpose?

Price wars! Unfair competition! Disturbing market balance!

Yet Sword Flower University, thanks to its substantial wealth, dismisses the criticisms and supports its staff. This just shows how precious Holy Sanctuary Mages are—if Sonia became a Holy Sanctuary Mage, Sword Flower would definitely be delighted to spend a huge amount of money on her indulgences annually!

In a mundane world where legends are scarce, Holy Sanctuary Mages represent the ultimate combat power visible to ordinary people, an embodiment of miracles, and the epitome of magical arts!

It might seem like all one needs to do is find a Seven-colored Fish to become a Holy Sanctuary Mage, but Sonia knows better; even if they were lucky enough to stow away to the Distant Realm, she would only be a counterfeit version, like a rusty iron coated in colorful paint.

If silver symbolizes talent and gold genius, then the Holy Sanctuary represents the theoretical limit of innate talent, diligence and resources. As for legends, as the name implies, they are unique and unreplicable.

Although Village Girl is currently at the Golden Level in the Sword Technique Faction, it might seem she is only a step away from the Holy Sanctuary. However, that "step" is a chasm that leaves countless swordsmanship geniuses stranded on the Time Continent, forever unable to witness the landscape of Space Swordsmanship.

For instance, the academic ranking at Sword Flower University includes teaching assistant, lecturer, associate professor, and professor, with the basic requirement for a teaching assistant being the complete manifestation of Golden Wings, signifying a formally acknowledged Two-winged Mage. Apart from anomalies like Sonia, it typically takes an average Mage two to three years to focus and progress their primary faction to its golden pinnacle.

Teaching assistants are very close to reaching the Holy Sanctuary, but there are three tiers above them, each one a step closer to the Holy Domain. This "step" has been divided into four levels by Two-winged Mages, showing just how relentless and dissatisfied Mages can be.

Even though Sonia diligently practices swordsmanship during the day and at night has an Observer feed her Experience Treasure Orbs and commander manuals, she can’t be sure she’ll ascend to the Holy Sanctuary within three years.

For Holy Sanctuary hopefuls like Sonia, Reonie, and Nages, even if they finished the journey on the Silver Airway and Golden Road in less than four years, the expectation remains for them to advance to the Holy Sanctuary within twenty years—statistics show that the "germination rate" for Holy Sanctuary seeds is less than 30%, which means that it would be a great success for Sword Flower University’s educational efforts if even one among these three reaches the Distant Realm.

It’s hard to represent the gap between the Holy Domain and the Golden Realm directly, so let’s use the color of the Illusion Wings as a metaphor: Golden Illusion Wings are only gold, while Holy Illusion Wings gradually turn rainbow-colored. Not to mention the countless derivatives between different colors, just the seven colors of the rainbow indicate that the knowledge amount at the Holy Realm is seven times that of the Golden Realm, and this knowledge must be fully integrated and as versatile as the ever-changing rainbow to be considered sufficient.

Most geniuses spend three years advancing their faction knowledge to the peak of the Gold Realm, times seven equates to twenty-one years, so planning twenty years of development for Holy Sanctuary seeds seems quite prudent.

Of course, unlike school, "effort" does not necessarily correlate with "achievement" in society. Compared to realms, the choice of Magic Faction affects one’s destiny even more. Combat Mages can only chase monsters in the Abyss, while Creation Mages can make a fortune merely by staying in a bright and comfortable studio. For supreme factions like Prophecy, even having only Silver Wings could rank one far above those with both Gold and Silver Wings.

But for Holy Sanctuary Mages, this concern is non-existent, for they are all versed in a Tier-0 Magic Art: the Space Faction!

The Distant Realm is different from the Time Continent; mages on the Time Continent only have the "opportunity" to study the Time Faction, but most are unable to comprehend time. If Sonia hadn’t had a strange adventure in the Amnesia Cabin, she would never have started learning the Time Faction, even if she bathed in the Flowing Gold River—"Using the Flowing Gold River to understand time" is a traditional activity for Two-winged Mages, and if you haven’t nearly drowned in the Flowing Gold River ten times, you can’t claim to have diligently studied the Time Faction.

However, in the Distant Realm, every Mage must start learning the Space Faction, otherwise, you simply can’t use Holy Illusion Wings to explore the Void Realm! Essentially, the Holy Realm is the manifestation of a Mage’s knowledge of the Space Faction!

Let’s not even discuss the combat advantages of the Space Faction. In terms of creation and production, all Holy Sanctuary Mages could initially produce space tools after simple training, and space tools are always in high demand—they essentially control high-end production resources as Tactical Weapons.

Before meeting the Observer, Sonia’s dream was to be a beloved Two-winged Water Mage; after meeting the Observer, she dared to dream a bit wilder, aspiring to become a revered Starry Sword Saint.

As for becoming a Legendary...she doesn’t doubt the Observer’s ability to take her to the fourth layer of the Void Realm, but would possessing Legendary Magic Power really make her a Legendary Mage?

She knew her limit was the Holy Sanctuary.

Or rather, once she reached the Holy Sanctuary, she wouldn’t strive any further.

Her life was not solely about swordsmanship; reaching the Holy Sanctuary would ensure her financial freedom, social advancement, and a carefree existence, at which point she could pursue the things she truly loved, such as becoming a Shadow Actress and Songstress, falling in love, starting a family, or perhaps... studying how to reach other countries.

Or figuring out how others could come to the Kingdom of Stars would do.

Ah! How I long to become a Holy Sanctuary Mage! Why should nobles, born with a golden key and living life above others daily, become Holy Sanctuary Mages? Shouldn’t they be the ones squandering their fortunes, indulging in debauchery, and ultimately draining their family’s wealth?

"How am I supposed to fight him during the Meteor Disaster! Mages from the Holy Sanctuary should definitely be banned from participating in the university league!"

The Village Girl could no longer hide her envy and resentment.

She glanced inside the sports car, hmm, today the Observer and the Witch weren’t piled together, Sonia felt a bit better and couldn’t help but vent her emotions, "You guys can’t imagine what happened to me tonight..."

"...and that’s it, I finally defeated an Earth Mage, but my school’s Star Temple Disaster still ended in utter defeat. Moreover, in the Meteor Disaster, I have to face an opponent who also primarily uses the Wave Motion Sword, but has higher Magic Power, a higher Realm, and Miracles that completely dominate mine! It’s so unfair!"

Sonia said as she grabbed the Witch’s hand and swayed it back and forth, sighing, "It seems I won’t be able to win the Meteor Disaster this time..."

Moments later, Sonia suddenly felt a strong sense of unease.

It was so quiet.

The sports car was so quiet.

Previously, the Witch would use clumsy communication skills to indulge her, using phrases like "Hmm," "Is that so?" and "Wow, that’s impressive" to keep the conversation going. Plus, the Witch was genuinely interested in campus life and the university league, and having such a faithful listener made Sonia enjoy chatting.

Due to character division, the Observer usually wouldn’t intrude into conversations, but once he noticed the atmosphere freezing, he would take the initiative to break the deadlock, then she would take the chance to tease him a bit, maintaining the team’s balance.

But when Sonia brought up the topic, these two didn’t react at all?

It was like typing a long message in a group chat and then receiving no replies, leaving the Village Girl awkwardly twiddling her toes.

She looked at the Witch, who sat with her left hand propping up her chin, coldly looking at the reverse Golden Rain outside, her expression somber and biting her lower lip. The Observer was also staring ahead blankly as if his soul was still lingering in reality.

"Witch? Witch!"

Sonia nudged her, and the Witch finally snapped out of her reverie, "Ah? What is it?"

Sonia, "Do you know what I just said?"

Diya, "I... I’m sorry, I was distracted and didn’t hear what you were talking about."

"Are you in a bad mood?"

"You can tell?"

"Of course, your brows are practically forming the words ’I’m not happy’, how could I not?"

"Really!?"

"Of course, not, are you okay?" Sonia asked, "You look like you’re in pretty bad shape."

"I’m just a bit restless..."

"Is it because of something in reality?" Sonia asked tentatively, "We might be able to give some advice, and maybe talking about it could make you feel better."

Diya showed a complex expression, lips tightly pressed, and eventually, she slowly shook her head, "No, I... can’t say it."

"But being in this state isn’t ideal for exploration, how about we let another sister take over for a night?"

Sonia intended to provoke her, given the Secret Princess’s typically strong personality who couldn’t stand such disparaging words. However, Diya hesitated for a moment and then obediently nodded, "Okay, I also think I need to calm down, let Bai take over for me tonight."

Having said that, the Witch’s attire transformed from black to white, turning into the dignified and proper White Queen in a blink of an eye. Among the Witch’s four personas, the White Queen had the highest emotional intelligence and manners, not as gullible as the Secret Princess, but very comfortable to be around.

After exchanging greetings, the Village Girl called to the driver, "Observer, what are we doing tonight?"

Ash suddenly straightened up, "Nothing, we’re not doing anything tonight!"

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