Mage Manual
Chapter 505 - 413: Igula’s Debt

Chapter 505: Chapter 413: Igula’s Debt

The pair spoke as if they were lovers on a date, yet they were neither lovers nor had they made any such arrangement.

"Congratulations, Mr. Igula," Anfeier said as she pulled out a chair and gracefully took a seat opposite the Swindler.

"What’s there to congratulate about being the number one on the ’Deceit List’?"

Igula rubbed his temples and said, "Now all of Gospel is comparing me with Harvey, and I have already heard people in Mongfera saying that ’Rusted Crow’ and ’Ghost King’ are both Gatekeepers of the apocalypse... Even my worth is considered a bit higher, after all, the legacy of the Necromancy Angel can only be inherited by Harvey, but the knowledge of rituals I will master in the future is a core technique that everyone can use."

"Speaking of this, does Gospel have a complaint hotline? I really want to complain about their lack of concern for the user experience." Igula sighed, propping up his cheeks, and said, "Can a scheme still be called a scheme once it’s revealed? Can the solution of a puzzle still invoke laughter once it’s unveiled?"

"Can’t it?" Anfeier asked in return.

Igula fixed his gaze on the red-haired girl, his lips slightly curving upward, "Of course... it can."

"In my professional career, the only realization I’ve come to is that there are too many fools in this world, and not enough con artists to exploit them. The only lesson humans seem to learn from history is that they never learn any lessons at all."

"Whether it’s a good reputation or a bad one, reputation itself is a scarce resource, and how to use it all comes down to the heart. Now everyone knows I’m a master of deceit, subconsciously they will refuse to believe my words. With just a slight use of this mental inertia, I can set countless traps for my enemies."

"Even if they know the deceit in the future, it won’t become their wisdom, but rather their ’idiocy.’ With just the slightest twist on the problem set, these examinees who cannot deduce by analogy will continue to fall into my traps—because the essence of deception is not ’information disparity,’ but ’desire.’"

"Fuel their desires, provide what they need," Igula said with sincere gratitude. "I am truly fortunate to have come to Mongfera, to have come to Belladett. If not for this journey, I would not have such clear enlightenment of my path."

"Do you really like this essence of the Dominion Faction?" Anfeier blinked.

"Too small, the scale is too small," Igula laughed, shaking his finger. "This is not only the core of the Dominion Faction but also a summary of social laws, and even the rules of the world’s workings."

"Although the social systems of Blood Moon and Gospel are worlds apart, they both boil down to these two phrases: provoke the desires of the people, then hand them the means of production. At the end of the day, isn’t societal operation just the ruling class deceiving the lower strata and plundering the value they produce? It’s just that the deception is beautified as a political program, and the plundering is hidden within the barely noticeable gears of operation."

"It’s the same with the Void Realm; mages struggle their entire lives, but in the end, all their wisdom becomes nourishment for the Void Realm... What scythe is sharper than death? And who reaps more thoroughly than the Void Realm? A Swindler like me who still speaks is actually third-rate; the true deception doesn’t just abstain from speaking, it is eternal, and for thousands of years, countless clever people have poured themselves into it."

"Society’s excavated desire is ’a better life,’ and the Void Realm’s provoked desire is ’greater power,’ but ultimately, they both use the same thing to deceive living beings," Igula raised a finger. "That is ’the future.’"

"As long as it’s for the future, anyone can give everything."

"Rusted Crow realized this, and thus he always triumphed, fooling all beings, playing with Gospel," Igula placed his hands together in prayer and smiled. "Although I am still not Rusted Crow, by observing the Deceit List, my theoretical knowledge is now sufficient; what I lack now is only practice."

"I don’t doubt Mr. Igula’s ability to reach the heights listed in the Deceit List in the future," Anfeier said. "But my congratulations are not for the fame, future knowledge, and tangible rewards that the ’Deceit List’ has brought to Mr. Igula, but for the clarification that the ’Deceit List’ provides, so Mr. Igula does not have to worry about being misunderstood."

"You actually appreciate Gospel, don’t you?" Anfeier blinked, "Gospel is the best witness for you all."

Igula’s smile faded, as he looked calmly at Anfeier.

"Are you here to stop me?"

"How could I? I don’t have that power," Anfeier shook her head. "I’m not even a Mage."

"However, you’re not going to meet Sister Yvalin later, but she has many questions for you, so I came to ask on her behalf."

"That’s fine," Igula said. "It just so happens that I also have questions, so how about we each ask one, one at a time?"

"A fair trade," Anfeier nodded. "Sister Yvalin surely has many questions, but what she most wants to know is how Mr. Igula managed to seize the highest authority of Belladett?"

Without a doubt, Igula’s latest backstabbing had plummeted Belladett into a cesspit, leaving it utterly covered in filth.

Because all of Gospel knew that the Dominion Faction was Belladett’s core technology.

Now, if only the people of the Funeral Ceremony could escape, everyone would think that Belladett harbored them, even Yvalin’s clarifications would be in vain.

If she said ’Igula has seized the highest authority of Belladett,’ and Gospel acknowledged the truth of this statement, it would be like Harvey saying he found a living girlfriend, and everyone’s reaction would only be, "You must have deceived Gospel (the girlfriend), right?"

Your family’s core technology has ruled the city for hundreds of years, and in all that time, the single mistake happens now?

Who would believe that!

Even if Gospel says you’re right, everyone will weave ten thousand conspiracy theories to prove you’re wrong!

And even taking a step back, if Igula is 99% wrong, doesn’t Yvalin bear 1%?

No one can clap with just one hand. Why would Igula not mess with other families instead?

You Belladetts must have made mistakes too!

Moreover, Yvalin is indeed at fault—if she hadn’t tried to control the Mages of the eight great families, there wouldn’t be this mess now.

In any case, the eight great families will suffer; the only difference is whether they are sucked dry by Yvalin or directly pulverized by Igula.

"I noticed on my first day at the estate that the number of statues here is excessively high, and the variety is also suspiciously comprehensive," said Igula. "Considering that I am a Spirit Mage myself, I started to think... could these be containers where you store spiritual power?"

"Yvalin is only a Two-winged Mage; her soul cannot possibly bear the spiritual energy of tens of millions of people. Besides, the Dominion Faction has been in your family for so long, there is bound to be a mechanism so simple that even a fool could use it."

"The reason these statues are so diverse is to cater to different people, to ensure that the spiritual power of similar individuals flows into the same statues, and then the impurities are filtered out and purified."

Anfeier nodded, "It is said that most of the statues used to be farmers in simple clothes, but now they are mostly corporate employees in formal attire."

"Then I asked the Gospel which statue was similar to me." Igula sounded a bit annoyed, "I don’t know if there’s something wrong with the Gospel or your family’s selection mechanism, but it actually thinks the statue similar to me is the Meiwa Holy Knight."

Anfeier covered her mouth and laughed, "I actually think it fits quite well."

"Then I conducted numerous experiments beside the statue," recounted Igula. "Most were futile, the Spirit Miracle had no effect on the statues, until..."

"I used shell points."

Anfeier uttered, "I see."

"After using shell points, when I was introspecting, I noticed a thread of my spiritual energy flowing into the statue," Igula explained. "It was so minute it was almost imperceptible, and in the next second, my soul energy had been restored. I even suspected it was all just my imagination."

"Further research revealed that whether I spent one shell point or a hundred, the lost soul energy was the same. That is to say, this mechanism isn’t for extracting energy, but for... establishing a connection."

"The statue is the base station, the individual is the terminal, and shell points are the means of connection."

"I previously wondered why your family would bother using ’shell points’ as currency; after all, you didn’t need to create a virtual currency to make money." Igula glanced down at the Gospel Book, "Not until that moment did I realize that ’shell points’ were not for the convenience of the people, but for your convenience. And at the same time, shell points are the most secure lock for your family."

"Such high-level access is so critical, but not every Family Head is intelligent. How do you ensure that the Belladett’s privileges are not tricked away by outsiders? It cannot be a physical object, it cannot be a secret order, it cannot be a Technique Spirit... Your ancestors came up with a marvelous answer."

"A virtual currency completely under your family’s control, shell points."

"The act of ’spending shell points’ itself is a Dominion Miracle!" Igula expressed his admiration, "The specific operation is— as long as you can pay the debtor’s amount owed, you can control the computing power of the debtor’s mind pledged as collateral!"

"The price of each person is their debt!"

"There is no such thing as the highest access level; the person who can instantly spend the most shell points has the highest access. But without a doubt, the Belladett Family Head, who has nearly unlimited shell points, is the one with the financial power to control all debtors!"

"There’s a very interesting design here: only those who have debts can activate this system, so if outsiders dare to meddle with the Dominion system, they first have to become debtors to the Belladetts... like a delivery coming to your door."

"However, this design applies to the Belladett Family Head as well; that is to say, the Belladett Family Head also has a price." Igula glanced out the window as if he could see Yvalin leaning on the railing in the distance, "Therefore, the Belladett Family Head would do the opposite, just needing to owe a price no one can afford, such as..."

"One hundred million."

He paused, "Per minute."

Anfeier tilted her head and asked, "But... Mr. Igula, you’re not very wealthy, are you?"

"I’m not, but Yvalin conveniently enabled us to use Spending Shell, and granted a very high credit limit to boot." Igula spread open his Gospel Book, "Coincidentally, it’s also one hundred million."

"But I must say, after centuries, your family hasn’t made any innovations in technology, not even anti-search mechanisms. I actively used ’Spending Shell’ to borrow, spending one shell point, two shell points, three shell points... By making purchases with different amounts, after seven consecutive searches, I found the signal to change the credit limit within the spiritual waves emitted by myself."

"This is the only operation in this deceit involving technical content—I cracked Spending Shell. Although there are still records when I use Spending Shell, after all, it’s a financial system operated by the Gospel, impossible for me to steal money. But no matter how many shell points I spend, my borrowing limit won’t decrease."

"That means..."

Igula turned his Gospel Book around to show Anfeier, "I can now owe one hundred million, spend one hundred million, every second."

Anfeier looked down, only to see that Igula’s Gospel Book displayed his debt ballooning every second at high speed, while the Swindler himself was utterly undisturbed.

"Sister has lost without resentment." The redhead girl sighed, "You have completely uncovered the secret of Belladett rule."

"In the Dominion system, those who borrow against their own future are the controlled; those who borrow against tens of millions of people’s future are the controllers."