Mage Manual
Chapter 341 - Chapter 341 Chapter 288 Little Horn

Chapter 341: Chapter 288: Little Horn Chapter 341: Chapter 288: Little Horn Trampling through thorns, passing through the golden curtains.

The sports car cheered freely on the Time Continent, as Ash watched new squares appear on the Void Realm Map, he immediately avoided combat squares like “Worth a visit” and “Time to wipe out a family.” He firmly kept the sports car on the “Waste of time” route.

Only if a Mage’s projection appeared on the road, Ash reluctantly ran them over.

Tonight, there were just the two of them, and it wasn’t suitable to engage in battles. Even if they did fight, it would inevitably consume a lot of soul energy. It would be better to expand their exploration range and see if there were any special Void Realm buildings.

Moreover, they weren’t in the mood to fight tonight.

The atmosphere in the car remained silent, but it wasn’t the awkward kind of silence. It was like someone who was several hours late, who just happened to stop by, only to find that their date was still waiting for them there–well, it was awkward.

But this kind of awkwardness didn’t make one feel uncomfortable; rather, it had a sort of unspoken warmth.

“Little loudspeaker,” Ash suddenly blurted out after a long silence.

“Huh?” Sonia couldn’t believe her ears, “What did you say?”

“I said you’re a little loudspeaker.”

Sonia, who had been through rigorous debates on the school forum for several days, naturally elevated her argumentative skills to a higher level: when someone insults you, never refute that you aren’t, but strike back. This counterattack is divided into three levels; the lowest is tit-for-tat, the middle is tailor-made, and the best is…

Use your fists if possible!

Sonia grabbed Ash’s ear, “Well, you dare to scold me today, I can’t imagine what you’ll dare do tomorrow!”

“Hey, hey, watch out, I’m driving and a Fish-Slicing Dragon just passed by!”

“Why did you scold me!”

“Why wouldn’t I scold you when you’re being so foolish?”

“What did I do that was foolish?”

“Isn’t waiting in one spot for over two hours foolish enough?” Ash yelled, “It’s lucky the Time Continent doesn’t have the ‘Secret Poison’, or the knowledge creatures of the Sea of Knowledge would have devoured you by now!”

“I’m not an idiot!” Sonia didn’t give in, “You think I’m like you, venturing into the Void Realm without a shred of common sense? Since the day we parted, I’ve been learning knowledge about the Time Continent every day, revising the important factors of the Time Continent, the mechanism of the Void Realm, ways to deal with various knowledge creatures… Of course, I knew it was safe to wait for you!”

“How could it be safe?” Ash almost laughed in frustration, “I just saw on the map, the White Bull had already moved far away from you, the Static Domain would catch up to you within an hour!”

“I’ll definitely leave the Void Realm before the Static Domain arrives!”

“What if you don’t notice it? You said yourself, the Static Domain is silent. By the time you notice it, you won’t be able to escape!”

“Anyway, I can escape.”

“But you didn’t have to take such a risk!” Ash complained, “I didn’t ask you to wait, you should have just normally explored the Void Realm and moved forward, why put yourself in danger? Am I wrong calling you foolish?”

Thud!

This time, Sonia was genuinely infuriated, and she hammered Ash solidly. Ash felt his soul energy scattering just a bit– you’re a Sword Maiden, not a Boxing Princess, why are you hitting so hard!?

“You still dare to say that,” Sonia said fiercely, “We agreed to meet at 12:30, and only I showed up! You didn’t even leave a car for me, not even a note!”

“I used to think you at least kept your word, but now I will never believe you again, you big liar!”

“This is within the error margin!” Ash retorted, “I just had an unexpected issue tonight, it wasn’t intentional. By the time I got settled, it was already two hours later, I came to meet up with you all immediately, didn’t I?”

“What happened then, give this Sword Maiden something to cheer about?”

“I can’t say.”

Hanna’s Contract sealed Ash’s words like a gag.

“Will there be a next time?”

“Highly likely,” Ash thought about the current situation at the Funeral Service Office, “I might even be unable to come to the Void Realm for several consecutive days.”

“So what you mean is,” Sonia squinted her eyes, “you can’t say the reason, and you’ll continue to ask for leave?”

“…Yes.”

Ash responded somewhat aggrievedly–what kind of times are these? He was the financier of this team, yet he had fallen so low as to get scolded by the operators? As the investor, wasn’t it only natural for him not to work, let alone he had a legitimate reason, though he couldn’t disclose it.

He quietly awaited the next round of scolding from the Sword Maiden, but it took a while, and she remained silent.

“I’ll try to leave the car for you guys next time…” Ash said, “Although I can’t lend the map, with this car, you should be able to maintain a rapid increase in your magic power…”

Sonia suddenly asked, “Is it more dangerous than a prison break?”

Ash paused for a moment, “Slightly more dangerous.”

“Heh.”

With Sonia’s unclear chuckle, the atmosphere fell silent again.

When they finally ran over the first Mage projection of the night, Sonia said, “This is so boring.”

“Why don’t you sing a song?”

“Don’t you have any life experiences to share?”

“I do, but I can’t talk about any of them,” Ash shrugged, “If I have to speak, I can only do it in the manner of a riddler.”

“Oh?” Sonia seemed a bit interested, “How so?”

“Like, I’ve become somewhat famous,” Ash pondered and said, “In life, not only do I have to face the risk of harassment from a boss, but also something in my life now needs to be defended with my life…a person.”

“What person?”

“I can’t say.”

“Women?”

“…”

“Women under 30?”

“…”

“Women under 22?”

“…”

“Women under 18!?” Sonia was shocked, “Observer, how old are you even? Shameless, really–”

“It’s not what you think!” Ash helplessly responded, “And why don’t you ask about sexual harassment from the boss, don’t you care about that at all?”

“Because that’s definitely not the same as what you’re saying,” Sonia was very certain.

“Anyway, although I’d love to vent about what I’ve been dealing with lately, I just can’t do it,” Ash said. “Once all this is over, I’ll slowly tell you about these past days.”

“Then I guess I’ll look forward with expectation.”

Sonia looked at the reverse golden rain outside and suddenly said, “A couple of days ago, Feng Jianhe sent someone to find me–you can think of Feng Jianhe as a business association that specifically helps songstresses release songs–they hope to tailor-make a battle song for me. If there’s enough time, it might even become this year’s college league theme song!”

“And there’s senior Sister Celia–you might have forgotten who she is–but through her referral, I’ve managed to land a role in a Moon Nine drama. It’s not the lead role, and it’s even an antagonist role, but the screen time is basically equivalent to the second female lead!”

“Then your big break is here!” Ash said. “If played well, the impression left by an antagonist on the audience is by no means inferior to that of the main characters!”

“I think so too!” Sonia nodded, snickering. “Humph, those nobles don’t really have good intentions. My reputation has been rising lately, and although they want to use my fame, they look down on my background and are unwilling to arrange good roles for me. So, they stuff me into a villain role, thinking they’ll see me embarrass myself and earn a bad reputation… But no matter, disappointing my enemies is something I never disappoint at!”

Ash never doubted the Sword Maiden’s abilities–her rebellious spirit borne from the grassroots exuded a relentless confidence, as if nothing in this world could break her.

Perhaps in the past there would have been something, after all, the Sword Maiden was ultimately a weak individual. But now, her weaknesses had been covered by Ash.

She won’t be weak and she won’t be alone.

Ash suddenly remarked, “It feels like it’s been a long time since we last spent time alone, hasn’t it?”

“…Yes,” Village Girl lowered her eyelids, “With the Witch around, there are some things I just don’t feel comfortable talking about with you. It’s not that I want to hide it from her, but… it feels a bit embarrassing.”

“Pfft.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“It’s nothing, I’m not laughing at you, I really understand how you feel,” Ash laughed, “Like a delicate flower in full bloom, the Witch only sees your beautiful petals, so you feel the need to maintain your composure in front of her; but I have seen your roots, hidden in the soil, not beautiful before you bloomed, so you feel more relaxed around me.”

In plain terms, it’s like that label everyone can apply ‘cold on the outside, a chatterbox once familiar’–most people are indeed like this, maintaining their image at a first meeting, until both sides know each other thoroughly, then slowly revealing their quirks.

“You mean I’m just a pretty girl with nothing but looks?”

“You say ‘just a pretty girl with nothing but looks’ as if that’s something cheap…” Ash muttered. “But I think you don’t need to be so reserved in front of the Witch… First of all, the Witch is not the sort of person who would look down on you because of your background.”

“Secondly, those roots of yours, covered in soil, are actually quite cute.”

The Sword Maiden stared at him without speaking, and Ash shrugged, “Of course, I’m just suggesting, I’m already satisfied with the team atmosphere as it is, even if we don’t continue to deepen our cohesion. If you prefer the time we spent sitting in the boat in the Sea of Knowledge, I can understand–”

“Alright,”

“Hmm?”

“Thinking about it, always talking to you, a smelly man, about girlish matters is indeed a bit inappropriate,” Sonia said, propping her chin. “It’s time for me to switch best friends.”

“First of all, I’m not smelly, secondly–”

“You’re not a man?” Sonia instinctively used the school forum’s argument tactics.

After a brief quarrel at the level of a small horn, the Village Girl emerged thoroughly victorious.

Looking at the displeased driver, Sonia suddenly said, “We have already left the Sea of Knowledge.”

“Hmm?”

“So, the time of being a duo has passed, next there will be teams of three, four, five… the team will grow larger, and we will grow stronger.”

“…Yes,” Ash viewed her through the rearview mirror. “That’s my plan.”

“I’ll help you,” Sonia said. “Although I might not be very willing, I will help you, because if our team becomes stronger, then our exploration efficiency will increase, and the benefits I gain will increase.”

“The benefits you gain will also increase.”

Ash looked at Sonia unexpectedly, but the Sword Maiden was staring at the reverse golden rain outside, her eyes sparkling.

“My life is colorful, with singing, acting, and participating in competitions, you’d better not come to me for help with real-life troubles, I won’t have the time or the ability to help,” the Village Girl said softly. “But, if you really have to kneel down and beg, I might just give you more help in the Void Realm.”

“…Kneeling is out of the question; on my side, kneeling is only used when praying for a ‘Miracle,'” Ash laughed. “But, I’ll reluctantly accept your grudging goodwill.”

“Humph, now I’m really in cahoots with you.”

“Then remember not to do stupid things like waiting for someone in the Void Realm again, it’s truly lowering our average IQ.”

“Mind your own business, megaphone.”

…..

Liss felt her cheek was wet, wiped away the drool, and rolled over to continue sleeping. In a haze, she saw Ash’s lips slightly curved upwards.

Liss murmured in her heart, “Dad looks so happy, is he having a beautiful dream?”

Diya said, “Maybe it’s the pre-prison training, he knows he will eventually be caught by Red Hat, so he wants to stay optimistic…”