Mage Manual
Chapter 329 - Chapter 329 Chapter 279 Ash·Heath

Chapter 329: Chapter 279 “Ash*Heath Chapter 329: Chapter 279 “Ash*Heath “Mentos Chen acquired the reward ‘Hemera’s Medal of Honor’.”

“Hemera’s Medal of Honor: In the Hemera region, the holder’s Magic Power recovery rate, soul energy recovery rate, and physical strength recovery rate are increased by 100%, and they possess three opportunities of resurrection after death.”

“The Obelisk acquired the reward ‘Watcher’.”

“Watcher: This structure is impervious to wear and tear; any creature gazing upon the structure will receive a brief boost in physical strength recovery as a blessing for five minutes, triggerable only once per day.”

There was no doubt that ‘Hemera’s Medal of Honor’ was an exceedingly powerful artifact. Combined with the three chances of resurrection after death, the holder could virtually do as they pleased in Hemera. The ‘Watcher’ reward was also quite interesting–it was less a reward for the Obelisk and more a reward for the citizens of Hemera.

However, no one in the living room was in the mood to discuss these rewards, and the city outside had also fallen silent, as if everyone were waiting for the Gospel Book’s verdict.

“8th place on the Art Chart: ‘Oath of a Thousand Colors: Demigod’s Form'”

“Description: A Mage consumes all their sanity, all their Magic Power, all their Technique Spirits, their unique name, and traces of their life to condense colored ink, which they then apply stroke by stroke onto their own body, thus leveraging the power of the Void Realm to briefly gain power that transcends the Legendary.”

“Creator: Alifia Calia”

…..

“7th place on the Art Chart: ‘Ceremonial Blood Matrix of Five Thousand'”

“Description: 5,623 Mages used their own blood as ink to draw ritual runes over an entire city overnight, using themselves as bridges to leverage the power of the Void Realm to reinforce the city’s structures.”

“Creators: Paris Sastin and 5,622 others.”

…

…

Looking down the list, Ash and the others were one thing, but Hanna and Banjee were almost out of breath, their expressions extremely heavy.

Nearly none of the works listed on the Art Chart had a positive portrayal of the world fifty years later, but each listed artwork indirectly depicted the cruel disasters that the Kingdom of Gospel had endured.

It was a dreadful terror where Mages went to their deaths, the nation collapsed, cities were destroyed, families were extinguished, and the 1668-year history of the Gospel nearly came to an end!

“What on earth happened…” Hanna bit her finger, “If the future is doomed to this, then do we still have the need to… yes, the Divine Lord’s wish!”

Banjee also turned around, “Right, if we gain the Divine Lord’s wish, we can request the All-knowing Weaver to take action!”

“Oh? I guess, what you mean isn’t using the wish to save the world, is it?”

Igula tilted his head: “Mr. Banjee probably won’t have the chance to see the world fifty years later, and Miss, after you use the wish to boost your strength beyond the Legendary level, even if you can’t resist, you’ll definitely be able to escape from Gospel to another safe country, like our homeland, for instance… There’s no need to use the wish on such a grand proposition as saving the world, right?”

Hanna glanced at them, “What if I felt like saving the world on a whim?”

“Then I’d definitely be very happy that my employer is a good person,” Igula shrugged, “After all, I am not of such a high-minded realm.”

They have given themselves away, Ash thought.

Hanna had never revealed why she was willing to pay such a great price for just an opportunity to seize the Divine Lord’s wish.

Of course, everyone wants a wish, but what one wishes for after obtaining it can vary drastically.

If Hanna wished for eternal life, everlasting youth, or even to become a Divine Being, everyone could understand and cooperate as usual. However, if Hanna is pursuing some noble ideal with this plan, sincere cooperation becomes much harder.

Igula and Harvey were both selfish, so they knew that dealing with another selfish person was the most comfortable–those who are selfish fear death.

People with weaknesses are the easiest to control.

But idealists are different; aside from death, they have no weaknesses, and their only outcomes are victory or death.

“Cooperation” means that everyone can’t afford the cost of breach, so they have to follow the rules of winning and losing. But if one side isn’t afraid of breaching the contract, this so-called cooperation is nothing more than a joke, and they can flip the table at any time without admitting fault.

Hanna and Banjee seemed to sense the growing rift with their tool men, so they fell silent and continued to watch the art ranking.

Soon, the art ranking reached the last spot.

But unlike the gloomy scenes before, the number one ranked creation was set in a very comfortable scene–a white-walled studio, soft sunlight spilling through the window onto the wooden floor, indoor plants swaying slightly, inducing a lazy drowsiness at a glance.

As the camera zoomed in, a beautiful figure in purple appeared, painting. Across from her there should have been a model sitting on a soft chair, but it was empty at the moment. Nevertheless, the purple-clad beauty continued to paint as if nothing were amiss.

With a slight camera pivot, the face of the purple-clad beauty slowly appeared in the frame, and nearly everyone in the living room jumped to their feet in fright!

Despite looking more mature and radiant, the painter was unmistakably the head of the Funeral Service Office, ‘Purple Moth’ Miss Hanna!

In the footage, Hanna seemed somber, painting with a hand that moved as if it was leaden–slow and heavy. Even though her brush touched the thin paper, each stroke was laden with immense weight, causing discomfort just to watch.

When the final stroke was made, she stood as if relieved, angrily snapped her brush, and shouted fiercely, “It’s over!”

Snap!

With a crisp sound, the clean studio and the soft sunlight shattered like glass, along with any semblance of peace.

She wasn’t standing in a clean and bright studio but amidst the burning ruins, surrounded by cracked earth, a gray and gloomy sky indistinguishable between day and night, a world as if devoured by an apocalypse!

At this moment, the view shifted behind Hanna, and everyone noticed at the same time that the soft chair, which should have been unoccupied, now had someone sitting in it!

However, due to the obstruction of the canvas, only his legs were visible, hiding his face from view!

But that didn’t matter.

Because everything hidden by the canvas was now depicted on Hanna’s canvas.

This was the number one artwork in the “Art Ranking.”

In the ruins of a burning city, a man in a dark red trench coat sat on a luxurious red leather chair. He crossed his legs, propped his cheek with one hand, his face covered with a mask, his uncombed fringe falling carelessly, gazing indifferently at the burning world with slightly narrowed eyes, as if smiling.

A chilling horror crawled from Ash’s spine to the crown of his head.

“Art Ranking First Place: ‘Ash Heath'”

“Description: A portrait of Ash Heath, [obscured text], [obscured text], [obscured text], [obscured text].”

“Creator: Hanna Doran”