Mage Manual
Chapter 538 - 436 Sword Maiden Breaks Defense

Chapter 538: Chapter 436 Sword Maiden Breaks Defense

Diya energetically reached out her hand to high-five Ash, hugged the Sword Maiden, and then flipped into the sports car and raced into the Rain Curtain.

"Finally, it’s just you and me."

Ash turned his head to look back, somewhat displeased, said, "Sword Maiden, why did you have to stir up trouble in front of the Witch, forcing me to play the villain? What if the Witch really starts to dislike me? That would be troublesome... What’s wrong with you?"

Ash talked for a while before he realized that the Sword Maiden was looking gloomily at the incoming Golden Rain outside, pouting and sulking, completely lacking the gentleness and consideration she had shown to the Witch earlier, not sparing him even a glance, practically a walking "Beware of the moody cat" warning sign.

"The Witch just got better, now what’s the matter with you?" Ash held his forehead, "I’m not a psychologist... It feels like it’d save a lot of hassle if we had one in the team..."

Seeing that the Sword Maiden still ignored him, Ash wrote a few lines in front of her using the "Heart Pen":

"Do you prefer the Deep Sea or the Starry Sky?"

"For dinner, do you want vine-tied fat stew or bamboo shoot fried fat?"

"Do you prefer garter stockings or silk stockings?"

"Do you like Gold Coins or silver coins?"

"It’s definitely Gold Coins!" Sonia said irritably, "I’m not a fool!"

Ash blinked his eyes and continued with his earlier questions, "Why did you have to slander me in front of the Witch like that? I haven’t offended you recently, have I?"

"Though we usually communicate normally, to make the Witch let down her guard, it’s best if we appear to be enemies," Sonia said. "Since I’m responsible for helping the Witch, you definitely have to oppose and view the Witch as an enemy, so that she can quickly bond with me."

"Besides, who said you haven’t offended me recently?"

Ash looked innocent, "How have I offended you? I hardly said anything just now!"

Sonia looked at him with a resentful gaze.

Indeed, Ash hadn’t spoken anything to offend her; the one who had actually upset her was the Witch.

Hearing that the Witch could go back and find someone to act spoiled and coddle after returning was enough to utterly break the Claw Club president!

She broke down! She got anxious! She lost her composure! She realized she was the real fool!

Sonia’s plan had been going well; she played the good cop against the Observer’s bad cop, ensuring the Witch would grow close to her instead of the Observer, positioning herself at the core of the team and importantly, not giving the Observer and the Witch a chance to get close.

Not just now, but in the future, if there were new team members, Sonia would still play by these rules, basically motivating everyone to isolate the Observer, or else how could she monopolize?

But the Witch’s words were like a piercing armor debuff mixed with poison, making Sonia terribly upset. And Ash had an innocent yet confused look, making Sonia feel like even his breathing was offending her.

The Sword Maiden took a deep breath, forcefully clearing the gloom in her mind, pointed at the lines of ink beside her and asked, "What are we going to do with this stuff when the Witch comes back?"

Ash blinked, recalling the "Heart Pen," and realized there really was no way to cancel it. The reason the one-time ink didn’t consume his Magic Power was because it became independent, but naturally, Ash also lost control over it.

"Just use your sword to cut it off."

Sonia stared as Ash pulled out his sword, making Ash think he was about to be chopped.

However, it was difficult to wield a sword inside the car, and the black ink was just outside the door. If she opened the door, she would be injured by the ink. Therefore, after brief consideration, the Village Girl leaped directly from the car into midair. She unleashed "Evil Light Slash" to clear all the ink and then elegantly landed in the outside Rain Curtain—

"(#`O′)Have you lost your mind!"

Ash instantly rushed out and carried the Sword Maiden back into the car. Seeing her legs had started showing signs of aging, he was furious and said, "Didn’t I just say that I’ve been driving along the Flowing Gold River? By jumping out like that, you would have landed directly into the Flowing Gold River region! You’re not from the Time Faction, don’t you smell the intense tea-like scent of time from the Flowing Gold River?"

"Hmm." The Sword Maiden made a soft and cute snort, seemingly aware of her mistake.

Hearing the obedient Sword Maiden in his arms, Ash softened his tone, "But this time, it’s my fault too. I was just thinking about getting past this section of the Flowing Gold River quickly and didn’t pay attention to how close we were."

"Hmm."

"Have your legs recovered? Can you walk by yourself?"

"It seems there’s still a bit missing." The president of the Claw Club tilted her head, "I feel like my waist was also corroded a bit by the Flowing Gold River. I can’t exert much strength, and I might fall if you don’t hold on tight..."

"Why has your spirit become so weak?" Ash found it strange, "Could it be the curse from the Chaos Shopping Book?"

"It might be. I purchased a decline in physical strength, and since physique is closely related to spirit, it’s normal to be affected." The Sword Maiden twisted restlessly, "What about you? Has the decline in luck you purchased affected your life?"

Ash froze for a moment, suddenly remembering the curse he bought was "no toilet paper when needed." Then, he recalled being treated like toilet paper by the Gospel ... He felt as if he was being mocked by the "Drama Poet."

"I think using the word ’affected’ is making it sound too gentle..."

"I’m back!"

Diya emerged from the Rain Curtain. Seeing the Observer silently watching the Sword Maiden sitting in the back seat, she curiously asked, "Did something happen while I was away?"

"Nothing." Sonia replied, "Witch, did you figure out what the special building inside was?"

"I figured it out." Diya nodded, "It should be the Fate Q&A you told me about, but it seems a bit different in form."

Fate Q&A!?

Ash and Sonia were immediately invigorated. When they followed Diya inside, they discovered that it was indeed completely different from the Fate Q&A in the Sea of Knowledge—

They saw a round table with three chairs placed around it, on which lay three pieces of paper, and ... three pairs of over-the-ear headphones.

The three exchanged glances, then sat down facing each other and put on the headphones. They first heard these rules: "The Fate Q&A listening test begins now. Answer questions based on the dialogue. A failed answer ends the test immediately, whereas a correct answer allows continuation. If the correct answers total one or more, the respondent earns the right to ask a question."

Sonia glanced at her companions, then heard this dialogue through the headphones—

"Witch, what do you think is the meaning of our lives?"

"Revenge."

"No, what I mean is, since we are born into this world, there must be some mission that only we can accomplish. What do you think our real mission is?"

"Even if it means burning the entire world, revenge is still necessary."

"Question: Who exactly do you want revenge against?"

"①The world ②Observer ③Divine Lord ④All of the above"