Mage Manual
Chapter 525 - 427 "Happiness List

Chapter 525: Chapter 427 "Happiness List

Today was June 4, and it had been only four days since the "Deceit List" was updated, still six days away from the regular update schedule.

According to Hanna’s statistical data, the Gospel Calendar had always been a severe procrastinator, unlike "Art List" and "Family List," which adhered to their regular update cycles—updating at the very last second of the deadline.

Historically within the Weaving Festival, there had been five instances where the update was delayed until 8 AM the next day, each time causing panic across the Kingdom of Gospel, with countless people unable to sleep, thinking the Gospel was broken and the Weaving Festival could not continue, highlighting how the Gospel’s delayed updates could cause severe psychological shadows among the widespread readership.

However, on the contrary, there had never been a history of additional updates in the Gospel.

Not even once.

At least in the ten Weaving Festivals that Hanna had statistically analyzed, it had never happened, the most it ever managed was an update right at midnight. To those anxiously awaiting the update, this was already considered a mercy from the Divine Lord, a blessing from Fate.

Therefore, when Hanna and Banjee saw the Gospel Book pop up, their first reaction was not excitement, but panic!

Over the past several centuries, they had experienced mountains collapsing, rivers drying up, thunderstorms in winter, blizzards in summer, even the merging of heaven and earth, the grand opening of the Void Realm, and invasions from the Foreign Domain, but never an additional update in the Gospel!

Especially for those like Hanna in the management offices, who understood the Gospel best, knowing it must act according to the rules. Once the Gospel broke the rules, it indicated a command from a higher level—Angel or Divine Lord?

Though many thoughts flickered through their minds, they still hesitatedly opened the Gospel Book to view its latest masterpiece.

"The Happiness List."

Ash and the others looked at Hanna with admiration—although the young miss had shown her capabilities many times before, the fact that she had always managed to obtain accurate insider information made one wonder if Hanna was the secret child of the Gospel.

"The Happiness List, number 10: The Happiest Wedding"

"Description: Daphne Bonaparte and Carlos Bonaparte were lovers who had been in love for ten years, and after numerous joys, separations, and life’s trials, the lovers finally became devoted partners. The day they married in the Sky Garden marked not only the endpoint of their trials but also the beginning of their happiness. They vowed to stay together forever, never to part, to live through countless difficul...ties...right?"

The font in the Gospel Book suddenly became blurry and even showed signs of smudging, as if someone was brutally altering the history woven by the Gospel, and his scribbling became more frantic, not only altering the description and the list but also turning the entire page a deep black. Then, red ink spread through the black, forming a name all too familiar to everyone.

"Ash Heath."

"Uh?" Ash looked blankly as everyone’s questioning gazes turned to him, "Why are you all looking at me? Look at the young miss! Young miss, why is my name appearing here, is this a surprise you prepared!?"

"If I could do that, your name would have been on there as the groom," Hanna replied dryly, "Maybe the Gospel felt mid-update that your wedding would be happier... huh?"

The list suddenly transitioned to video footage, featuring the Sky Garden in the two-tier city. The sky shone brightly yet not dazzlingly above, the city below was magnificent and thriving, and the distant snow-capped mountains bordered the picturesque landscape akin to a fairy tale world. The guests were elegantly dressed, the children cute and well-behaved, and as the band played, colorful flowers also wafted out rainbow colors, the festive joy almost leaping out of the footage and infecting the viewers.

"It looks pretty boring," Harvey commented, "If it were my wedding..."

Ash felt he was slowly catching up with the Necromancer’s train of thought: "Would the location be set in a cemetery?"

"How could it be? I have some common sense. Weddings definitely need to be lively, full of people," Harvey said earnestly, "Like after a great battle, with corpses everywhere, rivers of blood, soil soaked with warm blood, and air filled with persistence—it’s literally the cleavage between life and death. It would indeed be romantic to get married on a battlefield."

Although Ash wanted to object, he thought about it carefully—getting married on a bloody battlefield did seem rather romantic...

"Dad, wake up!" Liss rushed over and shook him, "Don’t listen, don’t feel, don’t think, or you’ll end up learning from the Necromancy Faction!"

Hearing about learning, Ash immediately snapped back to his senses, quickly rubbing Liss’s furry head to anchor his aesthetic views. It’s undeniable, the upcoming master of Divine Beings, the Necromancer Harvey, had been particularly provocative lately, almost seducing Ash into the world of the dead with just a few words.

"The place is nice, but there are too many people," Igula said indifferently, "How many of those guests are genuinely blessing them? Besides causing trouble, what other use are those children? The band is too noisy too; replacing it with a pianist would be nice..."

"Are you already planning your wedding with Anfeier?" Ash asked, "Remember to send me an invite."

Igula glanced at him, "Don’t worry, I would definitely not include you in my guest list."

Liss asked, "So Dad, what kind of wedding do you want?"

"Frankly, I don’t like these noisy rituals. I feel like I’m a sacrificial offering. If it were up to me, I would skip it entirely..."

"That won’t do!" Hanna and Liss simultaneously rejected Ash’s scandalous idea.

"Weddings are very, very important moments. Most fairy tales end with a happy wedding!" Liss said earnestly.

"Exactly!" Hanna added, "It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. If you miss it, there’s no making up for it!"

"Well, it might not necessarily be once in a lifetime..." Ash muttered.

At that moment, the video finally entered the wedding ceremony, featuring newlyweds in a princess gown and a mage’s robe making their entrance. The wedding ritual in the Kingdom of Gospel was also heavily influenced by the Gospel Book: both parties would write their names on the cover of each other’s Gospel Books, where the names would be permanently preserved.

This step had no practical significance; the Gospel wouldn’t give the newlyweds a twenty percent discount on consumption, but within the Gospel tradition, it represented the highest form of entrustment. In comparison, it was like using couple’s avatars on social media, wearing wedding rings on ring fingers, tattooing a lover’s name on the small of your back, and having a pork marked with an "inspection passed" stamp... In short, the moment you flash your Gospel Book, everyone knows you’ve teamed up in the game of life.

When this couple, certified by the Gospel as ’the happiest’, appeared in the video, everyone showed a look of sudden realization—they were both handsome and beautiful, but their eyes bore a striking resemblance to each other.

Simply put, to any discerning eye, they were clearly siblings.

Even in the socially progressive Kingdom of Gospel, sibling romance was a highly sensitive area. Unless the family was wealthy enough to afford a Miracle gene adjustment, even the Gospel didn’t recommend reproduction.

From this, everyone understood that the wedding indeed deserved the description ’happiest’: not just to others, but even the Gospel itself would employ various clever arrangements to break them up as much as possible, such as introducing more suitable partners to the sister or having more suitable girls pursue the brother. According to the Gospel’s original plan, this was ’a better life’ for them.

Their trials stemmed from their desire to break free from the Gospel’s bindings. If they had listened to the Gospel’s guidance or followed its arrangements even once, all their troubles would have vanished, and happiness would become instantly achievable.

But they hadn’t, so the Gospel conceded defeat. This future was the Gospel’s pre-paid compensation.

The bride and groom looked at each other, their eyes not filled with that all-consuming fiery loving sweetness, nor the calmness of looking at a family member. Rather, their pupils reflected a world where only the other existed, and everything else was mere dust—if put into words, only Harvey when discussing the Necromancy Faction had such an expression, and few others could compare.

It was a deep-rooted, mutual madness that, when reciprocated, turned into happiness that even the Gospel couldn’t touch.

As the couple sat at the stone table exchanging Gospel Books and were about to sign their names on the covers, the video footage suddenly flickered.

The next second, a sword unexpectedly split the stone table in the Sky Garden, startling everyone.

""Frankly, I don’t like these noisy rituals, I feel like I’m a sacrificial offering. If it were up to me, I would skip it and fast forward to the intimate moments of blending like milk and water.""

The familiar voice and even the familiar words made everyone instinctively glance at Ash.

Ash remained quite calm: "Confirmed, the Gospel is plagiarizing my live reviews."

"A longsword’s hilt was grasped by someone, and unexpectedly, a young man in a dark red cloak had appeared in the middle of the garden. Before he even spoke, the surrounding guests started frantically yelling, ’Ash Heath!’ ’Undead Demon Heath!’ ’Demon Lord of Calamity!’ ’Source of Chaos!’ ’He’s really revived!?’"

Hearing this kind of proclamation stirred a very strange feeling in Ash and the others. However, before they could discuss it, there was another dramatic shift in the video—

"Mist-like ghosts enveloped the entire wedding venue, the sunlight also losing warmth. A Mist Spirit approached Ash, transforming into a cloaked vagabond."

""Necromancer King Harvey!" The guests were in chaos, "If even he is here, then—"

"A well-dressed guest suddenly approached Ash, removed his hat and glasses, revealing smooth shoulder-length blond hair and a dazzlingly handsome face. The moment he revealed his face, a quarter of the guests suddenly pulled out weapons and took a defensive stance. They raised their left-hand Raven Feather Gloves and took control of the other guests."

""Rusted Crow!" The tremulous voices of the guests echoed, "Why, why would the Three Titans of Doomsday appear here?""

Damn, what Three Titans of Doomsday? Ash couldn’t keep his composure any longer.

Me, Ash, a fine man who has done nothing amiss, how did I get ranked alongside Igula and Harvey!?