Mage Manual
Chapter 537 - 435 The Witch’s Abnormality_2

Chapter 537: Chapter 435 The Witch’s Abnormality_2

But under normal circumstances, they absolutely couldn’t manage that. The road conditions on Time Continent were comparable to a primitive forest; there was no need to collide with any mountainous rocks or walls. If there were the slightest incline and the sports car caught air, followed by crashing into a tree, then brace for a spiraling charge like a tornado.

However, with the assistance of "Golden Years" reducing the requirement, two hours later Ash needed only to drive at 100km/h to gain an additional 100% magic absorption speed, which was a barely feasible speed on Time Continent; after four hours, even 25km/h would suffice, so even if Ash and his team were slowly cruising in the car, they could achieve a 270% magic absorption speed bonus of 130+40+100!

Ash informed them about the upgrade status of the Alchemy Throne and said, "Tonight, let’s not scavenge resource points and just drive around to visit some special buildings."

They had already spent over an hour in the Void Realm that day, and in a little while, after receiving the second level of "Golden Years," even without any other gains that evening, the spoils of magic power from racing in Time Continent alone would be double that of an ordinary mage. Ash’s suggestion was sensible, so the Sword Maiden and the Witch immediately agreed.

But as the sports car drove through the Rain Curtain, Diya suddenly realized, prompted by her sisters’ reminders, "Is it because of my mistakes that we’re not fighting tonight?"

"Heh!" Sonia suddenly laughed out loud, hugging Diya close and looking at the Observer in the rearview mirror: "Why would he be so kind-hearted?"

Ash’s mouth twitched, and he had to continue along with Sonia’s words, pretending to be indifferent: "Today, we’ve already missed several resource points. Continuing to scavenge would be inefficient. We might as well look for those special buildings; we might stumble upon unexpected gains."

His statement wasn’t wrong either. They had scoured five resource points in the last hour and surprising, two were empty. Not only were there no resources, but even the Knowledge Creatures had taken off—yet now it was Blood Tomb’s turn, and according to the Blood Tomb Map Ash had, those places were clearly marked as major resource points guarded by Knowledge Creatures!

This could only mean one thing: the Blood Tomb had already dispatched the Heroic Soul Army to retrieve resources!

The proof was that Ash’s group had been roaming for over an hour without the Heroic Soul Army pursuing them, indicating that the forces of the Blood Tomb had switched to a more conservative strategy, or perhaps even a scorched earth policy to reclaim all resources, with the Heroic Soul Army falling back to defend the main city!

And the reason wasn’t hard to guess. Whether the Spider Tower had seized the Oasis’s main city or not, the fact that Spider Tower had prematurely triggered the six-nation seal was already set in stone, and naturally, all forces would abandon development in favor of entering a state of full combat readiness!

Ash even suspected that the Blood Tomb knew he was the ignition for the war in Oasis. If he dared approach the Blood Tomb main city, he feared a thousand armed legions would emerge and blast him to smithereens.

Thus, Ash had already decided not to continue upgrading the "Alchemy Throne" any longer. Further upgrades would require too many resources, and resources in the future would only become scarcer. Given the current situation, seeking other special buildings indeed offered benefits not lower than scavenging resource points.

But Diya wasn’t so easily fooled: "Even if we’re not scavenging resource points, we could hunt those large Knowledge Creatures. Experience Treasure Orbs and Technique Spirits also provide stable income. Not to mention, even if we go searching for special buildings, we can still scavenge resource points along the way; there’s no need to give up fighting!"

"It’s really because I got distracted several times tonight that you’re accommodating me like this," Diya said, looking down at her knees. "Sorry, the problems tonight were all my fault..."

Ash couldn’t help but say, "Actually—"

"Actually, Observer, you think the Witch is a burden, don’t you! That’s why you’re giving up on fighting so quickly, to prevent her from holding you back, or even causing your death!" Sonia quickly wrapped her arms around the Witch, glowering at Ash with fierce eyes: "People like Observer are just self-serving and heartless! No trust in comrades at all!"

This! Sword! Maiden!—

Ash took a deep breath and said coldly, "Those are your words, not mine."

"I’m sorry!" Diya rubbed her eyes vigorously and said loudly: "I’ve been affected by matters in reality, which is why I was unfocused in battle earlier... but I have adjusted my mood now. If there’s another mistake, I’ll have the White Queen or a Red Death Cultist replace me directly and not affect our exploration. Observer, please proceed with the original resource scavenging route!"

"You don’t have to apologize," Sonia said gently. "Everyone has tough times, and resting for a night won’t keep us from becoming Holy Sanctuary Mages. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Diya slapped her face vigorously until it was flushed red.

"Being upset, unhappy, or uncertain and expecting others to accommodate is just a child throwing a tantrum," the Witch stated seriously. "I’m not a child anymore. I don’t have a favorite color."

She paused, clenched her fists, and continued with determination: "And besides, I do have someone I can be childish with. Don’t worry about me, just a hug and kiss from him can solve this!"

Sonia’s expression suddenly stiffened, and she forced a weak smile: "Ah, oh, well... that’s good."

"So Observer, continue onward to the resource point scavenging route!" Diya said: "I’m fine now!"

"The moment you first made the request, I was thinking of switching back to the original route," Ash said indifferently. "But halfway through, I encountered the Flowing Gold River, so now I’m following along its edge. The original route has been voided."

This situation wasn’t unusual; the layout of the Flowing Gold River changed randomly every day, and it could easily end up blocking your essential path. For regular mages, this was good news as most Two-winged Mages encountered the Flowing Gold River daily, and if they could get into it and score some Technique Spirits, then their day was set. However, for those with a map like Ash and his team, the Flowing Gold River greatly reduced their efficiency.

"Then, let’s pick a resource point on the way—"

"We’ve already arrived at a special building," Ash said, looking at the "Come Here" golden area on the Void Realm Map. "However, the Blood Tomb Map does not mark what kind of building this is."

Or rather, most special buildings were not marked, one of the reasons Ash had previously refrained from exploring specifically for such buildings; the gains were too uncertain. Thinking about it was quite reasonable, after all, Heroic Soul Commanders didn’t enter Void Realm buildings. They had no reason to mark them, and it’s likely that the Heroic Soul Commanders didn’t recognize all the Void Realm buildings either.

"Then I’ll go in and take a look first, and come out as soon as I figure out the rules inside!" Diya immediately said. "If it’s a mechanism like the ’Memory Loss Cabin,’ you guys won’t have to risk entering."

Actually, since the Void Realm Map showed "Come Here," it indicated that there was certainly no danger inside. But Ash knew this was the Witch’s way of trying to make up for her earlier lapses and, since he also wanted some time alone with the Sword Maiden, he nodded: "Please do, Witch."