Mage Manual-Chapter 200 - 174 Sword Maiden’s Interlude - Part 3

Chapter 200: Chapter 174 Sword Maiden’s Interlude – Part 3

“Why are you interested in this organization? If you want to join a club, wouldn’t drama be more suitable for you?”

Sonia saw Felix take the driver’s seat, she thought for a moment, chose to sit in the back, comfortably stretched herself on the leather sofa, and answered casually, “I had joined the drama club last semester. It was just a playground for some medium-quality women scheming against each other, with service staff consisting of several low-quality men revolving around them, and the prizes were one or two high-quality men… However, last year’s prize was not to my liking, and I felt it was pointless so I left the drama club.”

“Quit the drama club because it bored you…”

“Since you are aware of the Four Pillars God Sect, you must also know that it is not a trivial club for boys and girls to find excuses to mate,” Sonia, wiping the sweat from her neck with a wet wipe, said, “Or rather, it’s much more dangerous than those boring clubs.”

Felix lightly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, “Theoretically, there should be no information about the Four Pillars God Sect within the Kingdom of Stars… Would you mind telling me where you got this name from?”

“The Mage’s Handbook in the Void Realm.”

“…If you mind, you can just say you mind,” Felix said indifferently, “There’s no need to provide such unverifiable evidence. Information from a Mage’s Handbook has no legal effect and even its credibility is greatly reduced. You must have seen ‘The Legend of the Treasure,’ right?”

“Of course, I’ve watched the version starring Dedarose five times!” Sonia woke up speaking of this, “But I really did see it in the Mage’s Handbook.”

“The Legend of the Treasure” is a well-known parable in the Kingdom of Stars, frequently adapted for the Light Screen. The story isn’t complicated–simply put, there exists a legendary treasure in the Void Realm, but its location is unknown. The protagonist, a novice Mage, finds a dazzling Mage’s Handbook in the Void Realm which describes the correct ritual to obtain the legendary treasure. However, to perform the ritual, the protagonist must study the Magic Faction and summon the required Technique Spirits.

When the protagonist sets up the ritual and triggers the Miracle, the door to the legendary treasure appears, but behind the door is nothing but countless tentacles and endless abyss. The protagonist wants to resist, but unexpectedly, his own Technique Spirits submit willingly, embracing the door to the treasure.

It turns out that the Magic Faction and Technique Spirits needed to complete the ritual were merely there to make the Summoner more ‘appetizing’. The door to the treasure is not truly powerful, but for each summoner engaged in the ritual, it represents the perfect predator, turning the summoner into helpless prey!

The story ends with a novice Mage just entering the Void Realm, who provides a dazzling Mage’s Handbook by defeating the Mage’s projection…

Naturally, this parable teaches people to work diligently and not to expect windfalls. But for Mages, the story also carries a different warning—the information in a Mage’s Handbook is dangerous.

“If you only know about this organization from a Mage’s Handbook, there’s no need for such detailed investigations, right? Since you found me, it implies that you’ve already searched the library, haven’t you? I didn’t know you had such strong curiosity. Or is it that the swordsmanship training assigned by Professor Trozan is not filling up your schedule?”

“Ugh, if you don’t want to talk, just don’t, and drive me back to the dormitory.”

“Doubt does not equate to refusal. I hate this presumptuous way of thinking,” Felix accelerated the car and backed out, “but I don’t know much about the Four Pillars God Sect either. After all, as I have said, there’s no way you can learn about this organization from any documented source, the Empire has thoroughly destroyed all such information.”

“I have heard about this sect occasionally while mingling in the noble circles, but the mentions were mostly driven by curiosity. From what I understand, the four pillars of the Four Pillars God Sect each represent a different guideline for action: a tyrant who rules with violence, a traitor who manipulates with scheming, a Merciful Father who torments with despair, and a Prince who indulges in pleasure… As you might guess, the only pillar favored by the nobles is naturally the Prince symbolizing pleasure.”

Sonia placed her hands on the front seat, leaning forward to ask, “So… does the Four Pillars God Sect exist in the Kingdom of Stars?”

“It does not.” Felix shook his head, “All sects exist because people have a need for spiritual reliance, or because reality dissatisfies them, prompting them to seek redemption from a greater existence. The Star Cluster is a great nation, devoid of any ground for heretical sects to flourish.”

“You just said that nobles pursue excitement in believing in the Four Pillars God Sect?”

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“Everyone harbors ideas they think are correct at different times. Immaturity is a phase everyone must go through, nobles are no exception,” Felix explained, “But the reason why nobles are nobles is because the glory brought by their titles protects them from immaturity and evil.”

“‘Without a title, one cannot become a Minister; without being a noble, one cannot govern a county’… You must have recited the ‘Noble Act’ and know why nobles have a status and rights superior to common people, right?”

“Stars Blessing,” Sonia said. “It is said that every noble officially granted a title by Her Majesty is endowed with a Blessing, making them wise, brave, just, and strict… and indeed, this is true.”

The class barriers in the Star Cluster are extremely strict, and if you are not a noble, no matter how talented a Mage you are, you could never hold real power in the Empire.

However, the limitation is only ‘noble’; if you can inherit a noble title through marriage or earn it by great achievements that prompt Her Majesty to grant it herself, whichever way you become a noble, you then receive a ticket to the ruling class. Whether you can become a senior minister depends on your own abilities.

In this age of highly developed information exchange, any slight arrogance from Sonia was criticized in pages of forum discussions under the Veil by her peers, yet such glaring class discrimination stirred no waves in the Kingdom of Stars.

Even Sonia, who from a young age felt society owed her a throne, thought the nobility system was very good.

Because nobles are truly good.

Just, strict, undaunted by difficulties, diligent and devoted, this is the public’s impression of nobles. Whether it’s a libertine who flits through pleasure gardens or a sheltered flower who’s never seen a mosquito, the moment they inherit a title and become a noble, they mature substantially, becoming pillars of society who add value to the Kingdom of Stars, diligently serving the public interest without selfishness, scheming, misbehavior, or laziness.

All this, because of the ‘Stars Blessing’.

Textbooks describe the Star Cluster Blessing in one sentence: “It awakens the nobility’s sense of duty.” Initially, Sonia thought it was just an empty phrase, but when she arrived in Jiale City and learned in detail about the perfect integration of the noble and bureaucratic systems, she then realized that the statement was true.

“You’re focusing on minor details, the most core impact of the Star Cluster Blessing is just one,” Felix glanced at the distant night sky filled with stars, “It instills in the nobility absolute loyalty to Dazzling Star.”

“Absolute loyalty?” Sonia was startled, “Brainwashing control?”

“It’s not exactly brainwashing.” Felix thought for a moment and then said, “For example, Sonia, you value your mother highly and like making money, and you’re also willing to contribute to the Kingdom of Stars, but if you were to rank them, your mother is more important than earning money, and earning money is more important than benefiting the Kingdom of Stars, right?”

“Of course.” Sonia paused, “Actually, making money isn’t much more important than benefiting the Kingdom of Stars… unless it’s making a lot of money.”

“So in your heart, the priority is your mother first, making money second, and the Dazzling Star third. The so-called absolute loyalty is just making the concept of ‘benefiting the Kingdom of Stars’ the top priority, that’s all,” Felix continued, “If it was complete brainwashing control, the nobles would have rebeled long ago since no one wants to become a puppet devoid of self.”

“The power of the Star Cluster Blessing lies in making the nobles see the Dazzling Star as the most important entity to protect, yet it does not remove other emotional attachments, such as family, lovers, children, and hobbies. If it’s during a legally approved vacation, those nobles almost have no difference from normal people, and they even enjoy entertainment and social status beyond the reach of ordinary people.”

Felix glanced at the rearview mirror at the village girl, “Even knowing this secret, if you had the chance, would you want to become part of the nobility?”

Sonia considered for a moment, “I probably would.”

Although the Star Cluster Blessing involves brainwashing, if it was just to elevate the priority of ‘benefiting the Kingdom of Stars’ to the highest, Sonia felt she could accept it. After all, it’s her birth country, the land where she grew up. If possible, Sonia would certainly hope for the Kingdom of Stars to grow better.

Or rather, most people probably would, for benefiting the Kingdom of Stars is an admirable life goal. The question is like ‘if you want to be a good person, the price is becoming wealthy’—who wouldn’t want that!

“So you should also understand why there’s no presence of the Four Pillars God Sect in the Kingdom of Stars,” Felix said, “Under the fair and impartial rule of the nobility, the people live in peace and their standard of living improves year by year, leaving no social stratum influenced by the Four Pillars God Sect.”

“You won’t find any information on the Four Pillars God Sect partly because the Empire destroyed it, and partly because no one needs the Pillar God.”

“A faction that isn’t needed by the people will naturally be swept into the trash heap.”

The car stopped in front of the dormitory area, and Felix pressed a button to open the back door of the car, saying, “That’s all I know about the Four Pillars God Sect. Do you have any more questions?”

“No.” Sonia shook her head, “I was just curious.”

“I don’t care where you heard that name from, but as a friend, I advise you—don’t pursue the Four Pillars God Sect any further.”

“Why?”

Felix turned around, making eye contact with Sonia.

“Because it’s a waste of time,” she said, “You are a genius Sword Master, you don’t have time to waste on such trivial matters, I think you are not fully occupied with training, it seems I need to report to Professor Trozan tomorrow that you are not focused on your duties…”

“I get the feeling you’ve become very arrogant today,” Sonia wasn’t intimidated at all, “Could it be because you don’t have to duel with me tomorrow? Maybe during the day I should ask the professor to check your progress, I can fight with you using just a newspaper…”

“You’re so annoying! I hate you!”

Sonia giggled as she got out of the car, leaned towards the window, and said, “Thanks, see you tomorrow.”

Watching Sonia hop and skip into the girls’ dormitory building, Felix heaved a long sigh of relief, feeling like talking to this village girl any longer would make her brain boil.

“Hm?”

The steering wheel was stained with blood. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that fresh blood had seeped through the glove on her left hand.

Felix’s palm had been cut by Sonia earlier, but she didn’t dare to take off the glove to treat it until the village girl had left. Now that she was alone, she finally removed the glove. However, she didn’t rush to treat the wound, instead, she held her left hand up to her eye.

In the palm of her left hand, there was a perfectly round hole, just the right size to accommodate an eye.

Her already beautiful light purple eyes, adorned by the round hole, radiated a kaleidoscope of brilliance.

Through the round hole, Felix watched Sonia walk into the dormitory building in the distance.

“Who exactly talked to her about the Four Pillars God Sect?” she muttered softly, “I hate these unstable elements.”