Mage Manual
Chapter 308 - Chapter 308 Chapter 264 Goodbye

Chapter 308: Chapter 264 Goodbye Chapter 308: Chapter 264 Goodbye Demon Tempter?

Her name is Demon Tempter… Sonia thought, her body already moving, following the white silk clad girl swiftly across the field.

Even though she was suddenly dragged into this bizarre place, the village girl’s mood quickly stabilized, because even her toes told her that this was definitely the work of an Observer.

She had told the Observer time and again to give her a heads up before causing trouble, yet, just like Sonia, the Observer never disappointed when it came to letting people down.

Therefore, the redhead Sword Maiden was quite calm; after all, the Observer wasn’t going to harm her, and this adventure would surely bring benefits.

But the problem was that she was about to compete in the chief battle with Tida, and now she had been pulled here–would her physical body become idle in reality?

If she stopped moving, Professor Trozan would surely interrupt the match to protect me, but it was very possible that he would declare me defeated right away–it wasn’t possible to keep the music playing and wait for me to wake up. Professor Trozan didn’t have that thick a skin.

After all, issues with a student’s status were the student’s own business; mages often encounter such accidents. Not to mention anything else, dying in the Void Realm would greatly affect one’s real-world status.

Could a mage who frivolously dies in the Void Realm use the excuse of ‘not feeling well’ to delay a match? Impossible, everyone would only think, ‘Why didn’t others die and you did? There must be something wrong with you.’

Status management is a very important aspect for a mage; undertaking Void Realm Exploration before an important event is like taking a laxative before a long bus ride–the consequences are your own responsibility.

But it was Sonia’s first time representing her school in battle, and it was the chief battle at that. To screw up right before it started, she could imagine all the unpleasant things that would be said about her on the school’s forum when she got back.

Observer, oh Observer, why did you have to cause trouble at this time? You must know I have an important match tonight…

At this moment, Sonia’s heart skipped a beat.

If she was defeated this way without fighting in the chief battle, the school would surely be disappointed in her, even affecting this year’s college league. If she couldn’t participate in the college league, then her evenings would be freed up to continue participating in Void Realm Exploration…

With just a little soil, the seeds of suspicion would take root and sprout uncontrollably.

Don’t blame the village girl for such dark thoughts. If she hadn’t filled her heart with this stench of putrid filth, she would have been utterly consumed by the City of Jiale last year–the label of a poor beautiful college student does indeed elicit goodwill from good people, but it equally attracts malice from bad ones.

When affected by loss of benefits, the first reaction should not be, ‘It wasn’t done on purpose,’ but, ‘It was directed at me.’ Possessing this mentality, Sonia hadn’t lost anything in her year at school. She never missed out on scholarships, and she had elbowed out all competition for financial aid.

Because that was all she had left. To lose it meant having to sell herself.

In the past month, Sonia had almost ditched this rotten way of thinking–she hated her calculative self that had to scheme all the time.

After all, how could someone full of negative energy be happy?

Who wants to view those around them as bad people? Who doesn’t wish for their surroundings to be filled with little angels who adore them?

The appearance of the Observer completely turned around Sonia’s interpersonal relationships. She not only gained better friends but also the capital to interact with high-quality friends–and the latter was the most important. Sonia could relax and associate with people like Lois and Reonie, in large part because she didn’t worry about being disadvantaged or afraid of being used and betrayed by friends.

She could afford the price of betrayal by friends.

Because she could afford to lose, she wasn’t afraid to have.

But she couldn’t afford the cost of being betrayed by the Observer.

If, if it really was the Observer trying to control her life…

“Ah, we met so quickly…” Demon Tempter suddenly said with a soft laugh.

Sonia saw a shallow pond suddenly appear in the field, on which a Beastman wielding two axes sat cross-legged, clad in fine steel armor, seemingly pondering some issue with his head bowed.

“Do we attack?” Sonia heard ‘her own’ voice propose a straightforward suggestion.

“There’s no need. This is the Eternal World of the Shadow Evil Dragon, and all monsters are the Favored of the Shadow Evil Dragon. The moment we strike, we’ll be as good as knocking on the door to tell the master here that invaders have come.”

Demon Tempter glanced at Sonia, “If you wish to barge in, I don’t mind, as long as you don’t hinder me from completing my Master’s task.”

“Otherwise, just obediently follow my commands.” Demon Tempter waved her hand, and their figures faded to transparency. Coupled with the light mist that enveloped them, they became nearly invisible: “I’m warning you, don’t hold me back, Sword Demon.”

“Hmph.” Sonia heard ‘her own’ scornful laugh, seemingly uninterested in arguing with Demon Tempter.

And at that moment, Sonia finally remembered where this place was–the Eternal World, the Eternal Abyss!

The Abyss was not a singular entity, but existed as a myriad of derivative areas. For instance, the Waterway Abyss that emerged within river regions, the underground caves Abyss that appeared beneath cities, and even the underground city Abyss that mimicked surface architecture. Moreover, every level of the Abyss was different; for example, the first layer might be a Waterway Abyss, and the second layer could transform into a mire Abyss, with the monsters therein changing accordingly.

The Eternal Abyss was known as “the Abyss closest to Hell” and only appeared in the deeper layers of the Abyss. Sonia knew of this place because the Eternal Abyss frequently appeared in film and television works.

As the Abyss closest to Hell, the Eternal was considered the mandatory path through which the dead returned to life from Hell, and the predominant inhabitants were necromantic monsters, fitting the common impression of Hell.

The current understanding of the Eternal by the Kingdom of Stars came from the records of Legendary Mages, because only Legendary Mages possessed the capacity to venture into the deeper layers of the Abyss and step into the Eternal World. As for more, Sonia did not know; after all, she had no plans to explore the Abyss, and everything she knew about the Eternal came from Dedarose-led films such as “Alice in the Eternal World” and “I Don’t Believe All Sincerity Is Met With Ingratitude.”

Since “I” and the Deceiver could explore the Eternal World, it at least indicated that we had already traversed several layers of the Abyss… Does that mean “I” and the Deceiver are Legendary Mages?!

But was “my” name Sword Demon? It doesn’t sound like someone benevolent…

Sonia quickly sorted through the current intelligence and, at this moment, followed the Deceiver through several monster-guarded areas. The monsters were almost all sitting solitary upon pools of water, standing erect like tombstones. On the outside, they looked like Mages from various tribes, if not for the eyes, mouths, and ears filled with the blooming purple gloom flowers, they would seem quite normal.

Suddenly, the view changed; they were on a vast plain one second and saw a majestic palace in the distance the next. The Deceiver’s voice contained a trace of joy, “This is the place!”

Sonia immediately realized she had been pulled into a memory–the abrupt change had obviously cut out the boring part of their journey.

Only memories could undergo “editing” like that.

Why did the Observer want me to see this memory… Sonia followed the Deceiver into the palace, but the next second, she was so frightened she wanted to turn and run.

“Lucky us,” the Deceiver whispered with a light laugh. “The Shadow Evil Dragon is asleep.”

The palace, which had an exceptionally vast ground area, seemed to be entirely used to accommodate a black dragon. Its scales gleamed like onyx; its wings were inlaid with purple orbs and coiled upon a soft cushion, but even in sleep, its visage was fierce.

The palace was filled with purple gloom flowers, some even grew on the dragon itself, which didn’t add a touch of natural harmony to the beast. On the contrary, it seemed even more sinister, as if the dragon and the flowers were consuming each other.

Sonia had killed dragons before, having decapitated Fish Dragons enough to pile into a hill, so she shouldn’t be afraid of seeing a dragon.

But the issue was that this dragon was just too huge.

A rough estimate put the dragon’s stature in the dozens of meters when standing; merely its paw could completely cover Sonia, and the heartbeat from within its body echoed like thunder throughout the palace.

Sonia had never witnessed such a colossal creature, severely triggering her fear of large objects. When the gap in size reached a certain extent, all magics became foolish tricks; the dragon just had to step over to crush the bug that was Sonia.

A bug skilled in swordsmanship was no different from any other bug.

Was this the Shadow Evil Dragon? Could it be classified by level of living creatures? Did it belong to a complete form or an ultimate form?

Yet Sonia found “herself” grabbing the hilt of her sword, seemingly interested in disturbing the Shadow Evil Dragon’s quality sleep. On the other hand, the Deceiver reached out to stop her, “I’ve told you, we’re not here to start a fight. You’re just my insurance if I fail… Watch me.”

The sweet-looking girl hopped and skipped over to the Shadow Evil Dragon, even jumping onto the dragon’s snout, then walked up to its head. Sonia, who watched from the side, felt her heart pound nervously–understanding somewhat how a mouse would feel trying to bell a cat.

However, the Shadow Evil Dragon showed no reaction to the Deceiver’s actions, even sleeping more soundly. Sonia could see that the Deceiver was constantly casting some Miracle, suppressing the dragon’s vigilance to the lowest point, or even completely ignoring her.

But when the Deceiver reached the top of the Shadow Evil Dragon’s head, she suddenly reached in and pried apart the brow–unveiling the dragon’s vertical pupil!

The evil, dark purple giant pupil was exposed to the open air, and Sonia felt numb with nerves, but the Shadow Evil Dragon still did not awake; its vertical pupil drowsily gazed into the Void, oblivious to the Deceiver.

“The director was right; it has indeed matured…”

Humming a tune, the Deceiver poured a strange solution into the vertical pupil. Sonia had a bad feeling, but unfortunately, this was only a memory, and she could do nothing to stop her–

“Hey!”

With a defiant shout, the Deceiver scooped out the Shadow Evil Dragon’s vertical pupil! The sound of the eyeball and nerve fibers snapping apart was like the crisp pop of a wine bottle being opened!

“Ow–”

Sheer pain instantly awakened the slumbering creature, and just its roar formed a sound wave impact. Sonia felt as though she had been struck by a Wind Technique Miracle, let alone its bellowing resounded like thunder exploding through the Eternal, her ears ringing with Echoes!

The Deceiver lightly jumped off the Shadow Evil Dragon, first placing the purple gloom dragon eye into a transparent container to keep it alive, then storing it in a spatial device, “Okay, my task is done; now it’s your turn.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means–bye now, bitch.”