Mage Manual
Chapter 326 - Chapter 326 Chapter 276 Anonymous

Chapter 326: Chapter 276 Anonymous Chapter 326: Chapter 276 Anonymous May 11, 11:46 PM, time was running out for the Gospel Book to finish its assignment.

The entire staff of the Funeral Service Office gathered in the living room, silently waiting for the Gospel Book to turn in its first answer sheet.

“Daddy, what’s that outside?”

Ash squinted his eyes and stared at the giant Light Screen standing in the center of the city. Strangely, as he focused, his vision suddenly became extremely clear, allowing him to see the Light Screen several kilometers away in great detail.

“That’s the City Announcement Light Screen.”

Hanna curled up in the red leather armchair, wearing her pink-purple pajamas and a sleep cap, holding a cup of hot chocolate milk. She licked it slowly like a kitten, “It’s applied with the ‘Focus’ Miracle, allowing the content on the Light Screen to be seen clearly from any distance, and it’s only used during major festivals.”

“As a Weaving Festival that happens once every fifty years, there’s no doubt it’s a significant event.”

The impeccably dressed housekeeper, Banjee, said, “This is actually a remnant from the old times. Fifty years ago, not everyone could afford a personal Gospel Book. There were even ‘Shared Gospel Book’ and ‘Gospel Book Kiosks’… Thus, this city-wide Light Screen emerged to widely spread information. Over decades, it became a tradition. But actually, given the current penetration rate of Gospel Book devices, the City Light Screen is no longer necessary.”

“I rather like these outdated and redundant things. They are full of historical sediment,” stated Igula, swirling the ice in his glass by the dining table. “The loveliest and most meaningful aspect of history is that it is outdated and redundant.”

Harvey sat in the farthest corner, silently smoking cat grass smoke, as if he was being excluded. However, he had a coffin next to him, so currently, it seemed more like he and the coffin were excluding everyone else.

Ash sat on another red leather armchair. Liss also wanted to sit, but since she couldn’t squeeze past him, she reluctantly settled next to the dining table.

The cult leader looked around and asked, “Why are both of you dressed formally?”

Ash, Liss, and Hanna were all in pajamas, Banjee was in his butler’s uniform, or rather, Ash and the others had never seen Banjee out of his butler’s uniform. However, Harvey and Igula were fully geared, even wearing boots–considering they had been wearing slippers the past few days, and Igula had even stopped wearing slippers after he found the floor quite clean.

“A ‘Revelation’ Technique Spirit issued me a warning,” Igula said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Pretty much the same,” Harvey said. “When I was disoriented from smoking at noon and lost track of time, I saw Sangjiliv, Linda, Akli, Shakespeare, urging me to run…”

“Question!” Ash raised his hand. “Do you have schizophrenia?”

“No, those are my beloved friends and relatives, brothers and sisters–”

“Got it, they are dead,” Ash said. “So, there might be trouble tonight? Should we–”

“Don’t rush.” Hanna was the calmest. “This phenomenon is also documented by the Doran family. Every time the Weaving Festival roster is announced, the Prophetic Faction and the Fate Faction are affected, receiving extremely good or bad answers. I did three prophecies today; two celebrated good events to come, one warned me to leave or face a disaster.”

Since the locals said so, Ash naturally believed it, but Harvey and Igula had no intention of changing their clothes; perhaps they were too lazy to change, or perhaps they trusted their own judgment more.

Ash suddenly called up his Gospel Book and asked, “Speaking of which, does checking the future roster still require points?”

“Not during these 100 days, but after the Weaving Festival, if you want to look up past future rosters, you will need to use points,” Hanna explained. “When the first roster is woven, our Gospel Books will show a bookmark reminding you of notable individuals who will emerge over the next fifty years.”

“Speaking of which, is there a way to be on the roster anonymously?”

Ash suddenly recalled a classic scenario from online gaming novels, “Being on the roster will draw attention, so why not do it anonymously?”

“Sorry, that’s impossible,” Banjee shook his head. “Although we still don’t know why the All-knowing Weaver holds the Weaving Festival, it might be to control the future or inspire the people, but regardless, the Weaving Festival is definitely not for the Resonators.”

“Resonators definitely want to be anonymous on the roster, but they are just tools showcased by the Weaving Festival; the Gospel Book will not consider the wishes of the Resonators.”

“However,” Hanna suddenly said, “it’s not that there aren’t anonymous rosters.”

Banjee paused slightly, then realized what she was talking about, “That’s an exception among exceptions, it’s meaningless…”

Igula keenly sensed the secret, “What are you talking about?”

“Among the thousands of Gospel Lists, there is only one list where everyone remains anonymous.” Hanna said, “But being on that list isn’t a good thing, there isn’t even a rewards points bonus.”

Ash asked, “A list of murderers?”

“The Slaughter List is one of the few lists that criminals can be listed on; not to mention the competition is fierce, the rewards are richer than ordinary lists, but the cost is a higher chance of being caught by the Red Hats–it’s a mixture of gains and losses.” Hanna shook her head, “But the List of the Unfavored I’m talking about has only losses, with no rewards whatsoever.”

“The Unfavored…” Liss muttered, “that sounds rather pitiable.”

Banjee explained from the side, “The List of the Unfavored is the most bizarre list in the Gospel, with only one criterion for entry: being unfavored.”

“Those forgotten by society, people who aren’t needed by anyone, people who nobody cares about, even people who don’t care about themselves–these are the ones who end up on this list. And no one else knows the information about those who are listed; only the listed individuals know it themselves.”

“Typically, those who enter this list are all minors under the age of 17, with no adults.”

Igula asked, “Why? Because after becoming adults, they become needed by others?”

“Because they don’t live to become adults.”

The living room fell into a brief silence; Harvey exhaled a ring of smoke, “Why? What happened to them?”

“No one knows,” Banjee said. “We can only see from the list that the names in the List of the Unfavored suddenly disappear one day.”

Ash: “It’s also possible that they become needed by someone–”

“Although the Gospel Book shields their specific information, it doesn’t stop us from investigating why the unfavored are removed from the list,” Hanna said. “Only a very few are removed for ‘not meeting the listing criteria’; the majority are removed because ‘the target is no longer in the Kingdom of Gospel.'”

No longer in the Kingdom of Gospel–where did they go then?

It’s not likely that they left the Kingdom of Gospel voluntarily–those like Ash, who have experienced traveling abroad, understand the most how risky it is to wander between two countries.

Leaving your native country to start anew in another society with a completely different culture is almost like traversing worlds, not to mention many countries will exterminate foreigners to prevent invasions. Blood Moon does so, as does the Gospel.

Therefore, the most likely reason for removal from the List of the Unfavored is: being deemed by the Gospel Book as societal waste, unworthy of need, and granted a life restart package.

“It’s possible that the All-knowing Weaver received the unfavored into the Heavenly Kingdom,” Hanna said calmly.

“It’s also possible they fell into Hell,” Igula said coldly. “It’s truly cruel. When the unfavored hear the Gospel Book decreeing them as the least loved children in this world, what kind of emotions are brewing in their naive hearts?”

“I thought, Mr. Bokin, you were a Social Darwinist,” Hanna said, somewhat surprised. “You would support the natural elimination of those who can’t survive in society.”

“I certainly support the natural elimination of the weak, but I don’t support a high and mighty god judging the weak,” Igula said. “Even if what lies ahead is Hell, one should walk there by themselves, not be thrown down by god.”

“But don’t you think they might lack the courage to end it themselves?” Hanna said. “If they made it to the list, it means they already took 99 steps; the Gospel Book simply pushes them to take the final step.”

“Indeed,” Ash said. “According to the criteria for entry into the List of the Unfavored, those listed likely don’t want to live any longer. It’s like they’re writing a messy document, and the Gospel Book simply helps them put a sloppy period at the end–it’s perhaps a relief for them.”

“But since they didn’t choose to end themselves, it means deep down they still hope to write a beautiful story. With such tremendous power, the Gospel Book, acting as their editor, shouldn’t rush them to complete their story even if it doesn’t give them a chance for recommendation.”

“The power of the Miracle isn’t meant to destroy the weak, but to shape the strong,” Harvey also said calmly. “Just as the Necromancy Faction isn’t about accumulating death, but about elevating life.”