Mage Manual-Chapter 1306 - 952: You Don’t Want Ash to Hate Himself Forever, Do You?

Chapter 1306: Chapter 952: You Don’t Want Ash to Hate Himself Forever, Do You?

Ingrid looked at the Knowledge Artifact Spirit, a little puzzled: "Why did you suddenly prepare gifts for us?"

"Originally, I heard that Adelle became a mage, so I bought hers, but I thought since we’re here at Harvest Orchard, I might as well get gifts for all of you." Sonia laughed, "You’ve helped me so much, and I haven’t properly thanked you."

Ingrid frowned slightly: "It seems you’re acting a bit strange... Do you have news to tell us?"

"...Sword Masters are just that perceptive, aren’t they?"

Sonia shrugged, "Dedarose is going on a national tour performance, she invited me along, and I can’t refuse an offer from an idol."

"National tour performance?" Lois said blankly, "How long will it be? When are you leaving?"

"A little over a month." Sonia bit the straw, finishing her Queen cocktail, "I’m leaving tomorrow."

The three exchanged looks, Adelle suspiciously asked: "Are you really celebrating my becoming a mage, or just gathering us before you head out?"

"Of course I’m celebrating your becoming a mage. I’m not leaving for long, I might even return to Jiale City in the meantime." Sonia said casually, "While I’m away, the cleanliness of my bed is up to you guys. Just don’t let me find you put clutter on my side."

"You’re so stingy..." Adelle mumbled, "No one uses it anyway..."

"No!" Sonia said firmly, "What’s mine is mine!"

"But we won’t see Sonia for more than a month." Adelle shook her glass, her tone a bit downcast, "Even though we haven’t seen each other much these past few months, it still feels like the dorm will become even emptier..."

"Let me share some news too." Ingrid raised her hand: "I accepted Reonie’s invitation to join her Abyss squad, in a few days we are officially starting the Abyss adventure."

"Huh!?" Sonia was a bit surprised: "You’re only in your second year and you’re going to the Abyss for training?"

"My Silver Void Wings are already more than half condensed, meeting the squad’s threshold." Ingrid said, "Plus, my swordsmanship cultivation has hit a bottleneck, it’s rare to encounter battles in the Void Realm. I need higher intensity life-and-death battles to continue progressing."

"But you’ve only been a mage for a short time," Lois said worriedly, "if an accident happens, you’ll easily become the weakest link—"

"Reonie’s squad is a cross-school team, and Aisha is also part of it." Ingrid said, "If accidents still occur, it can only mean my skills aren’t polished enough."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that with Prophet Mage Aisha in the team, there’s no composition more comforting, unless a Holy Sanctuary Mage were added.

At this point, the bartender brought over new drinks, the atmosphere suddenly grew silent, and everyone quietly drank from their cups.

Lois looked at the murky ’Blood and Sand’ in her glass, suddenly saying: "Next semester, I might not attend classes much, and I might even have to take a leave of absence from my third year."

"...What happened?" Sonia asked, "Can I help?"

"It’s nothing, just my father got severely injured in the Void Realm and is nearly paralyzed now." Lois said helplessly, "He’s not young, and the medical practitioner says it might take one to two years for recovery. But the family business can’t be left unmanaged, so I’ll have to fill in for a year."

"Originally his age should have led him to seek wellness in the Void Realm, but he still wanted to push for the Holy Domain. Previously, he participated in the King of Time’s inheritance and nearly died, though that injury wasn’t severe, and he recovered within two months. But this time, his adventure finally hit a snag." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Young mages can rapidly recover from soul injuries, but older mages’ soul wounds heal slower and might cause mental collapse directly leading to death. Therefore, older mages often don’t enter the Void Realm anymore, or they take leisurely walks to avoid any activity or battle to prevent soul damage.

"Lois," Adelle tugged at Lois’s sleeve, looking sad: "How will I manage classes without you?"

"Try to become a Two-winged Mage, then you won’t need classes at all." Lois glanced at her, "But it also depends on how well my father recovers. If he can manage some duties, perhaps I can juggle both school and helping."

Sonia laughed: "Even though your family is the wealthiest, why do you sound like the one carrying the heaviest burden?"

"Precisely because my family is wealthy, I must shoulder responsibilities for them." Lois said, "In times of peace and quiet, it’s because family members carry the heavy load for me."

"Stop, stop saying that!" Adelle protested, "It’s clearly a celebration, why is the atmosphere getting heavy?"

Ingrid: "It’s because we all have different goals to strive for, after today it’ll be hard for us to gather again, it is indeed heavy."

"Only in the short term, it’s hard to meet!" Adelle said, "But after graduation? You all have to live in Jiale City right? We should get houses close to each other, I’ll come to bother you when I’m free!"

"As the child of foreign nobility, I think buying property in Jiale City is as difficult as achieving Holy Domain." Ingrid said, "I originally plan to work hard in Jiale City for over a decade, if no progress is made, then I’ll return home."

"So you’re saying if you achieve Holy Domain, you’ll stay here, right!" Adelle said, "You promised, no backing out!"

"I don’t have a partner, no reason to move out of my parents’ house." Lois said, "But if it’s a property with investment value, I might consider it."

"I’ll be asking you for advice when I buy a house later." Adelle looked at Sonia: "Sonia, no need to say, definitely staying and buying a mansion, right? You have to buy one with a hot spring, so I can soak while watching shows!"

Sonia blinked, didn’t answer, and quietly watched her.

Adelle paused: "Don’t you plan to stay in Jiale City?"

"I’m not sure." Sonia smiled, "After all, where to live can’t be decided by me alone."

"Ah?" Lois asked, "Does your lover not like Jiale City?"

"He has been living elsewhere before, and hasn’t really stayed in Jiale City." Sonia said, "If he can develop in Jiale City, that’s certainly good, but if not, we’ll have to discuss where to settle down."

"So that means we can’t even live in the same city?" Adelle sighed, "I knew you guys were just playing around with me, never really thought about growing old together; only I keep remembering the bond we shared sleeping in the same room..."

"Speak properly!" Lois chopped her on the head.

"New Year’s is in a few days." Sonia said, "Although next year we might see each other less, haven’t we had an amazing year this past one? To 1668!"

"Cheers!"

...

...

At seven in the morning the next day, Sonia took one last look at the dormitory and turned to leave.

Outside the girls’ dormitory, Felix’s car was already waiting on the road. Sonia sat in the back seat, looking sideways at the scenery by the road, watching the car depart from Sword Flower University, leaving the bustling city center, all the way to the meeting spot designated by the Four Pillars God Sect.

A large convoy consisting of three buses and seven business cars was already waiting there. Dedarose, wearing sunglasses and a mask, looked like a traveler preparing for a long journey. She saw Sonia and Felix arriving, and clapped her hands, saying, "Everyone’s here, we can set off. You guys sit in that car."

Sonia looked at the convoy in front of her, slightly dazed. At this moment, Felix beside her suddenly asked, "Are you really going?"

Sonia glanced at her and opened the car door, "I am the Sword Seat."

Diya was napping in the car, and as soon as Sonia sat next to her, Diya naturally rested her head on Sonia’s body. Not only Diya, all available combat power of the Four Pillars God Sect participated in this operation, even Ash, Igula, and Harvey’s bodies were taken along with the convoy, it could be said that the whole family was mobilized.

Dedarose’s nationwide tour was naturally just a cover; their true goal was to deploy Miracle Techniques across the nation, capable of shattering the Dazzling Star Heaven.

According to the Gospel’s assessment, the next Angel Hunt will also be the last, by which time the Kingdom of Allstars will inevitably make an all-out effort to imprison the Source Angel. The Dazzling Star Heaven connected to the Kingdom of Allstars will naturally be drained of countless energy, leading to the weakest moment of the Dazzling Star Heaven in a thousand years.

This is the once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity for the Four Pillars God Sect; as long as enough Miracle Techniques are deployed and they strike the Dazzling Star Heaven at its most vulnerable, there is a possibility to shatter this false starry sky!

But this also means that the Four Pillars God Sect is declaring war on the Kingdom of Allstars without reservation, it’s a do-or-die action, and even if successful, it’s a sacrifice!

Sonia saw Diya sleeping with drool and opened her small bag to get tissues to wipe it for her. However, upon opening the small bag, she found an unfamiliar box inside.

She opened it to find a rune watch inside, the same style worn by Adelle and the others.

Sonia thought about it and knew who put it there—both Adelle and Ingrid are straightforward in nature, and wouldn’t secretly give a gift; it could only be Lois.

As for why Lois didn’t give it to her directly...

She closed her eyes, recalling the emotional moments from the Meteor Disaster, the laughter from their shopping trips in the past months, how their meetups were becoming rare and greetings increasingly formal.

Sonia silently put on the rune watch, spun it around, and the rune symbolizing time lit up.

Nothing lasts forever, only time is relentless.

She thought for a moment, then opened the Miracle Bracelet to contact a rarely dialed number.

"Linda? Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes, how’s your health recently, have you been going for regular checkups?"

"I’m not sick or in pain, no need to go that frequently; it takes a day off to go, it’s such a hassle."

"Why are you still working?"

"The fields at home are all taken care of, it’s so boring staying at home not working, at work I can chat with everyone, and after work, we go sing!"

"Whatever you want." Sonia said helplessly, "As long as you’re happy."

"And you? Are you alright, nobody’s bullying you in Jiale City, right?"

"Your daughter is a Holy Sanctuary Mage, even the royal family wouldn’t dare bully her." Sonia said with a smile, "I just listened to a song about motherly love, and it suddenly reminded me that it’s been so long since I talked to you. Mom, I love you."

"Oh, oh." Her mother’s voice was noticeably a bit shy, "You don’t need to contact me often, I can take care of myself. You must be exhausted in Jiale City, remember to rest well. Linda is a good child, Mom always knew..."

After Sonia disconnected the call, she found Diya quietly watching her.

"Get out of the car." the Witch said, "Take Ash and the others away, just guard their bodies in Jiale City, don’t join us in action."

"You don’t want Ash to hate himself for a lifetime, do you?"