Mage Manual-Chapter 599 - 484: Distant Land - Ruby Mountain

Void Realm, Sea of Knowledge.

A solitary boat floated on the ocean surface, with Meiwa lying leisurely inside, dressed in an off-the-shoulder sweater. She gazed up at the fog-shrouded sky, seemingly daydreaming, until the small bat landed on her shoulder to urge her along, and she slowly set the boat in motion.

But the boat soon came to a halt again, making it obvious that its owner had lost her enthusiasm for work. If it weren’t for the fact that one can’t stay too long in the same spot in the Sea of Knowledge, she’d have much rather stayed put and idled away the time until her shift ended.

"Sigh~" Freyja hugged the small bat tight and lamented, "Why hasn’t a Mage found me yet... Tch, why do you need two Mages to fly into the sky to find the golden fish?"

At this point, for the ninety-third time, Meiwa became angry—she had been irate all night after finishing Chapter 119, only barely calming down after casting herself in the role of the Sword Maiden and invoking a chanting Water Magic Miracle—she pursed her lips and held the small bat even tighter: "Why is that wild woman who came from nowhere flying with Ash, wing to wing? That was clearly my spot, clearly mine... Thief, bad woman, shameless green tea b***h, woo woo┭┮﹏┭┮..."

The small bat, struggling to escape the pressure, rolled its eyes—by the timeline, you’re actually the other woman, right? Even I arrived before you... If we really kept a tally, forget about eating meat or soup; you’d at most be left licking the sauce.

Naturally, a woman in love seems to have no sense for logic.

Anger came and went quickly, and as Freyja fantasized about the scene where the Silver Wings take flight, a look of longing appeared on her face: "But that bad woman is also stupid, if it were me, holding hands wouldn’t be enough, I’d expect at least an embrace. And the moment we’d see the golden fish through the fog, it would be as if the entire Void Realm was witnessing our love. Nothing could suit that scene better than a romantic, soggy kiss..."

As Meiwa was indulging in her fantasies, squeezing tighter and her legs rubbing together unconsciously, she suddenly realized the small bat had become eerily quiet. Looking down, she discovered the small bat had been smothered unconscious.

"Sorry sorry." Freyja quickly let it go, and the small bat lay ’dead’ on the boat for a while, shaking itself awake and flying to the stern, looking back at Meiwa with a terrified face.

Meiwa gave an embarrassed smile, somewhere between a complaint and an explanation, lightly hoisting the two culprits that almost suffocated the small bat, and said helplessly, "I don’t know why they got bigger again recently, my shoulders are so sore during the day. I’m already twenty, well past my growing years..."

It turns out it’s true that Meiwa would have a second growth spurt when she has someone she likes. The small bat thought. However, Meiwa’s growth tended to be in directions that catered to the preferences of her beloved, which meant...

"When will I ever meet other Mages?" Meiwa stretched and complained, "I thought convincing other Mages would be difficult, but I didn’t expect even meeting them to be this challenging..."

Freyja of course wouldn’t question the veracity of the Golden Fish Poison; after she had fully conjured the Silver Wings, all she thought about every day was how to sneak onto the Time Continent with another Mage. But she was too lazy to search on her own; in the vast sea of fog, looking for them was no different from waiting for a rabbit to hit upon a tree stump, so she just lay in the boat idly, waiting for someone to come across her.

As for why not take the straight path and diligently cultivate as a Spirit Faction member to the Golden Level... let alone that greed is a natural Mage instinct and leveraging resources is the professional ethic of a Spirit Mage, coveting pleasure and loathing effort is Meiwa’s outstanding quality. More importantly, Freyja yearned to get closer to Ash.

Doing the same things, walking the same paths, admiring the same scenery... it was as if by retracing his past, she could make up for the moments she missed with him.

When Freyja shared these thoughts with the small bat, the small bat just couldn’t comprehend how someone could be so childish.

It must be nice, to be so childish.

The small bat, suddenly feeling playful, flapped its wings and made a sound. Freyja understood immediately, shaking her head, "Of course not! I don’t want to hold hands with other male Mages!"

She paused, "Hmm, that’s right, as long as it’s a Female Mage, there’ll be no problem. The ratio of men to women among Mages is about the same, I’m sure I’ll meet one."

Meiwa pointed to the sky, cheering herself up: "Ash, you wait for me, I’ll catch up to you very soon!"

The small bat flew onto her shoulder, a flicker of hesitation in its eyes.

...

...

When Ash opened his eyes at that instant, he immediately convulsed on the ground in agony.

Suffocation!

It was as if his entire being were stuffed into a rubber hose, experiencing suffocation!

He couldn’t even scream, the intense feeling of suffocation robbed him of all his expressive abilities, even breathing became abnormally laborious, and the barely audible growl was the loudest shout the folds deep in his soul could muster!

The Sword Maiden and Witch fared no better; both, in desperation, simultaneously bit down on one of his arms. The Witch almost bit a chunk of flesh right off, dirtying her hair before slowly letting go; even though the Sword Maiden stopped halfway, her nails had completely embedded into his flesh.

Now, Ash actually wished he could feel the pain inflicted by the Witch and Sword Maiden, as it might distract him from the mental suffocation. Unfortunately, the soul feels no pain through nerves, and no matter the severity of injury, there is never any physical hurt—he could even bite his silver teeth to pieces and it would not matter!

Who knows how long passed, but when Ash exhaled a deep breath, as if a switch was pressed, the three of them were finally released from what seemed like eternal torture. Both the Sword Maiden and Witch could not care less about their appearances, lying on the ground and breathing greedily. Everyone had turned into a puddle of mud, devoid of all fighting spirit; now if a Fish-Slicing Dragon were to attack, they would have no desire to resist.

Dozens of breaths later, like a student trying to rise on a cold winter morning, Ash managed to sit up with great effort, leaning against the corner of the wall, and exhaustedly said, "Seve—Seven-colored Tail..."

"It’s not the Seven-colored Tail."

Sonia, lying on the ground, chest heaving, barely maintained the presence of mind to respond: "That was... Space Transmission."

Ash looked behind and saw a plain wooden door frame; it seemed they had come through there. That’s when he realized they had arrived in an alleyway, with both ends leading to bustling streets, the noise making him feel as though he had returned to reality.

"Where are we?" Ash looked at them excitedly, "Were we teleported back to reality!?"

Sonia had barely caught her breath when Diya suddenly looked up at the sky and said, "No, this is still the Void Realm, look."

Ash raised his head to see the tiny strip of sky between the alley walls, quickly noticing a tinge of crimson light far off in the center of his vision, asking curiously, "What is that red dot?"

Diya didn’t answer but pointed to the other side of the sky and said, "Look over there."

Following her finger, Ash saw another tinge of crimson in the center of his view. He was baffled for a moment, "Why is there another one?"

"As long as you gaze towards any direction in the sky, you will see it," Diya said weakly, with a smile, "The fairy tale book ’The Dream Never To Be Reached’ describes the Distant Realm, where the protagonist only needs to observe the sky to know whether he is still in the Distant Realm. I never thought it would actually be useful."

"The crimson you see is the fourth layer of the Void Realm," Sonia added, "This is also the Distant Realm’s most significant feature; regardless of where a Mage is, as long as they look towards the sky, they can see their ultimate goal—the Ruby Mountain."

Ash exclaimed in surprise, "The fourth layer of the Void Realm is inside the third layer?"

"That’s what they say, but just like no one can find the golden fish or Seven-colored Tail, no one can find the Ruby Mountain in the Distant Realm," Sonia said, grabbing Ash’s hand to sit up with difficulty, "I never expected myself to become a Holy Sanctuary Mage so quickly; I haven’t read much on the topic... But sister professor had told me, for Holy Sanctuary Mages, the Ruby Mountain is a torture."

"You can always see it, but you will never be able to reach it," she pinched Ash’s sleeve, saying, "The ’distant’ in the Distant Realm refers to the ’Ruby Mountain of that distant place.’"

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