Mage Manual
Chapter 482 - 398: Golden Level Time Faction

Chapter 482: Chapter 398: Golden Level Time Faction

When Ash regained consciousness, he felt someone in his arms.

He blinked, his gaze slowly moving downward...

Then he saw a pair of black and white silk long legs.

The Witch had placed her legs on him, curling up like a child and lying in the Sword Maiden’s arms. Although it was a relief that the operators weren’t in his arms, having the Witch use him as a footrest was something he couldn’t get over—especially since the Witch hadn’t even taken off her boots!

When Ash woke up, Sonia also regained consciousness. She first felt the warm, soft touch in her arms, blushed slightly as she looked over, and immediately relaxed when she saw it was the Witch, then turned her head and saw Ash.

Noticing the accusatory look in Ash’s eyes, Sonia twitched her nose slightly, pouted, and avoided Ash’s gaze, pushing the Witch, "Time to get up!"

Diya, still drowsy, sat up; her hair had already returned to its normal color. She yawned and said, "I’m exhausted..."

"I remember the Sword Maiden and I couldn’t have swum across the Flowing Gold River..." Ash said, glancing sideways at Sonia, who pretended not to see.

"It was I who pulled you up," Diya said. "But I wasn’t foolish enough to turn back in the Flowing Gold River; instead, I climbed to the shore first, then pulled you both up."

Sonia blushed to the tips of her ears, ashamed—she had been called a fool by the Witch, and she couldn’t even refute it.

"But what did you pull us up with..." Ash began to ask but realized the answer himself partway.

Water lines!

Both he and the Sword Maiden had water lines set up by the Witch around their necks! Originally, these were meant to give the Witch peace of mind as ’mutual destruction lines,’ but they ended up being the ’lifelines’ that saved them!

Sonia asked, "But wouldn’t the water lines directly cut through our necks?"

"I can increase the proportion of the Water Magic Technique Spirit, making the water lines soft and sturdy," Diya explained, spreading her hands. "The water lines I hold in my hands are as comfortable as little bear paws, even pulling hard won’t hurt my own hands."

"How long have we rested?" Ash asked.

"Maybe a few minutes," Diya wasn’t quite sure. "After I dragged you out of the Flowing Gold River, I collapsed on the ground from exhaustion."

Ash opened the Void Realm Map and saw that the surrounding area was normal, with no trace of the Heroic Soul Army. Ash didn’t know how long this section of the Flowing Gold River stretched, but neither did the Heroic Soul Army—in the Commander’s map, the Flowing Gold River is the only landmark that cannot be marked, because its position changes every day, every hour, even every second.

The Flowing Gold River is the trace made by the White Bull, which moves every minute and every second; therefore, the river is always changing. Normally, there are only two main channels, corresponding to the two front hooves, but these two main veins branch into numerous tributaries, like tree branches, forming a Flowing Gold River that creates a normal flow of space and time.

The tributary they had just crossed might be an end branch, where walking a few dozen meters in one direction leads to the end; but it could also be a Level 3 or even Level 2 branch, stretching for kilometers, and the Heroic Soul Army couldn’t reach them in a few hours.

Speaking of which, even if the Heroic Soul Army managed to rush over, there was nothing Ash could do. Their soul energy had been depleted by repairing their soul bodies, leaving no energy to spare for walking.

Moving in the Void Realm requires the expenditure of soul energy. Previously, they got around this by driving, so this expense was avoided, but now that the sports car was wrecked and they had no other modes of transport...wait a minute?

Ash suddenly remembered that the Substitute could also carry him, right?

Although he could only summon one Substitute, the Substitute could carry him, he could carry the Sword Maiden, and the Sword Maiden could carry the Witch, forming a stack of four, and they could still move normally?

When Ash suggested this, he was unanimously opposed by the Sword Maiden and the Witch.

Sonia: "How far can a Substitute get us? If the Heroic Soul Army really does come, the Substitute definitely can’t escape; if the Heroic Soul Army doesn’t, we can leave after staying here for a few more minutes, there’s no need to complicate things."

"It just feels weird thinking about it," Diya said. "But to think a Substitute can still be used this way...speaking of which, does the Substitute belong to rare Technique Spirits?"

"In my place, it doesn’t," Village Girl shook her head. "But it’s not very useful, the Substitute can neither inherit the Mage’s Technique Spirits nor speak for precise operations, and it collapses upon contact. It can only serve to attract attention in combat, dealing with superficial chores in daily life, but the Substitute Technique Spirit consumes a lot, needing a silver coin every few days, which is two to three times the consumption of a regular Technique Spirit...If a Mage is particularly lazy, they might specifically purchase a Substitute Technique Spirit."

Diya nodded continuously, "Exactly."

Ash also gave up on this idea, as due to the Flowing Gold River, this nearby area was actually quite safe. Void Realm creatures consciously stay away from the Flowing Gold River.

If they were to move further away, they might encounter a Mage projection or a wandering Fish-Slicing Dragon, and stirring from their current spot would leave them weakened and kicked out of the Void Realm, which would be a misfortune after barely escaping.

"Let’s briefly organize what we gained and lost just now," Ash rubbed his temples. "Sword Maiden, you..."

"Witch, we really owe it to you," Sonia pressed down on Diya’s sticking up cowlick. "Without you, none of us would have made it. You’re the best, Witch!"