Mage Manual-Chapter 286 - 246 Spoils

The second piece of spoils plummeted in value.

"Demilo’s Hand-Drawn Map"

"Recording things that change seems foolish, but the Heroic Souls aren’t usually busy with anything."

As the name implies, this was a map, its texture feeling like parchment. When Ash unfolded it, he could see it was filled with detailed annotations.

Luminous points: current location, the main city of Star Hall.

Terrain: swamps, mud, forests, caves, mountains...

Resource points: lumber mills, ore pits, crystal mines, mercury factories, gold mines...

Special areas: Dragon Nest, Flowing Gold River, Fate Q&A House, Miracle Park, Wisdom Tree...

"There’s no Seven-colored Tail," Ash and his companions swiftly examined the map in detail and shook their heads in disappointment. They had thought the Heroic Souls’ map would carry information on the Seven-colored Tail, as, in theory, the Heroic Souls had joined the Void Realm structure and could be considered insiders; thus, they may have had the chance to learn insider information about the Seven-colored Tail.

Besides the Seven-colored Tail, the map was replete with information. Not to mention the resource points, but just the "Fate Q&A House" and "Miracle Park" alone were worth a visit. The former offered the chance to ask questions about the Void Realm through answers, while the latter even allowed for the free commandeering of Technique Spirits.

The "Wisdom Tree" was even more terrifying. According to the Sword Maiden, one could directly enhance a specific faction realm by paying a certain price, earning it titles such as the pass to the Holy Domain, Mage’s Wish Machine, and a life-altering tree.

It sounded more reliable than the Seven-colored Tail, but the problem lay in the "certain price"—though there were cases where only a minor price was needed for improvement, there were far more records of mages paying a steep price and ending up committing suicide due to strange circumstances.

For example, the price demanded by the Wisdom Tree was for the mage to lose his ability to speak (including listening, reading, and writing) for three days, coincidentally when the mage was implicated in a murder case. Unable to communicate at all, the mage mistakenly believed his other criminal activities had been exposed and resorted to killing out of desperation; he also killed his own family, thinking his wife and son were about to betray him.

When the mage returned to normal, the real murderer had been caught. However, upon learning the truth, the mage’s spirit broke, and his soul returned to the Void Realm.

Even with such a notorious reputation, the Wisdom Tree was still ardently sought after because many mages realized that they lacked sufficient wisdom. Compared to this, mages preferred seeking the Seven-colored Tail because, at most, failure meant losing soul energy, whereas encountering the Wisdom Tree meant one must sell their soul.

Logically, this map full of important information should have become the first among the spoils, but Ash and the others were less than enthusiastic because—it was truly just a map.

It wasn’t a Technique Spirit.

Experience Treasure Orbs could be absorbed, Technique Spirits could be controlled, but they couldn’t take the map out of the Void Realm, nor could they retain it upon reentry. Even if they forcefully memorized the map’s information, they had no way of knowing where they would appear during the next entry into the Void Realm. Attempting to find reference coordinates would only result in getting lost in the maze of the Veil of the Inverse Golden Rain.

A map without reference coordinates is like falling in love with a paper cut-out—no matter how much you invest, you’ll only harvest emptiness.

As for taking advantage of the map tonight to revel in the special areas, not to mention their vehicle was nearly blown up, the main point was—these high-value special zones weren’t close by.

The map had a scale, and they estimated that even the closest Miracle Park was 10 kilometers away. It would have been fine if the sports car was still usable, but without it and having to walk on foot, just the journey through rough terrain would exhaust their soul energy.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the distance; they had previously engaged in combat with the ferocious Dragon Clan and the Heroic Soul Army here before taking a brief rest. Even if they had previously advanced by car, staying in the same area for so long meant the White Bull had already traveled far away.

If they didn’t want to be caught by the static time, they either had to move forward quickly or log off and exit the Void Realm right there; they didn’t have the luxury to search for Miracle Park.

However, compared to resource points, several glowing important annotations on the map caught the mages’ attention more.

The glowing points, in addition to their current location, included four main Star Hall cities, which were very far away, presumably all within the Static Domain. Although there wasn’t much information, just the name "main city of Star Hall" allowed Ash and the others to glimpse an iceberg’s tip about the Time Continent—these Heroic Soul Armies were not naturally formed special ecosystems but proxies backed by powers within the Void Realm!

So, in this world, who could establish a hidden force within the Void Realm and enslave mage projections and knowledge creatures for their own use?

"Star Hall, is it a power created by the Divine Lord?" Sonia asked quietly as if afraid to draw the attention of some grand existence.

"Possibly, or possibly not," Ash shook his head. "We have too little information right now, and speculation is pointless. These main cities might also be relics of an old era, where any mage projection that enters is transformed into a Heroic Soul, awakens a spirit of intelligence, and then they prepare to form a great Void Realm army to counterattack the real world—"

"Isn’t that just the fairy tale story I just told!" Diya acutely noticed that Ash was drawing inspiration on the spot.

"In general, if we want to uncover the secret of the Heroic Soul Army, we have to get a glimpse of what those so-called main cities are all about," Ash said with a hint of regret. "Too bad we can’t take this map with us..."

"Observer, don’t you have a Void Realm Map?" Sonia raised her hands and then clapped them together with a snap. "Can’t you activate some kind of Super Fusion miracle to merge them?"

Sonia’s suggestion made Ash come to a realization. He opened the Void Realm Map, and indeed, a notification popped up: "Map information has been updated."

A red exclamation mark now appeared next to the "Zoom" button on the right side of the Void Realm Map. Ash had used "Zoom" before, but after enlarging the map, the other regions remained unknown, so he had not used this skill since, keeping the map at its smallest state.

Now, clicking "Zoom," the map expanded to its largest state, and Ash saw a piece that looked like one-eighth of a pizza pie—most of the map was still an unknown area, but roughly an eighth of the territory was now explored, showing various terrains, resource points, special areas, and even marking the four main Star Hall cities.

Looking at this large map, there was a strong impulse to illuminate all the dark unknown areas.

Besides that, Ash also noticed a small stretch of known territory that was very abruptly located within an unknown area. He looked carefully and confirmed from landmarks such as "Stone Mine" and "Flowing Gold River" that this was the same place they had explored the night before.

It turned out the Void Realm Map had the ability to automatically record and create maps!

And he had no idea!

Although Ash didn’t know how this map recording feature could be helpful, since every time they entered the Void Realm they would appear in different places, and they had explored successfully in the past without recording maps, he still felt like he had missed out on something—like confessing to a childhood friend only to find out that they had liked him three years ago, which would make him regret hesitating for three years.

Ash could have discovered this truth simply by opening the map, but he still felt deeply grateful to Sonia for reminding him, "Sword Maiden, I feel so touched right now I want to kiss you."

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Sonia extended her hand, indicating for Ash to give a hand-kiss. Ash glanced at it, "You’ve been using this hand to wield a sword, it’s not sweaty, is it..."

Sonia clenched her fist, "Stand still, I can kiss your mouth with my fist too, French kissing is also fine—as long as your mouth can fit my fist."

"Why only kiss the Sword Maiden? What about me?" Diya looked shocked, "Observer, are you suggesting I have not performed well enough?"

"Come to think of it, if we were really to distribute rewards based on contributions, you should be the ones kissing me," Ash said with arms crossed. "But if after every major battle we used kissing to reward the person with the greatest contribution, it would feel... weird... Even if I didn’t mind, you would certainly mind, right?"

"Let’s take this opportunity to establish normal courtesy practices amongst us three: our closest interactions should stop at hugs and holding hands, and more intimate actions like kissing or caressing should be prohibited, as they would make the other person uncomfortable."

Ash paused, "But if it’s done in private, then it’s not a problem."

Sonia: "What are you thinking?"

Diya: "I think I know what the Observer is thinking... and that’s not happening! The White queen won’t, the Red Death Cultist won’t, the Black Butler won’t, and neither will I!"

"The information from this map has already been recorded onto my Void Realm Map," Ash said, as if he hadn’t heard their conversation, changing the subject. "If we descend into an area on the map next time, we can explore nearby resource points and special areas."

If the Commander’s Handbook gave Ash and the others a taste of success, then this resource map was the feast after a full meal. However, the resource map was too restricted; if it weren’t for Ash’s Void Realm Map which could import external records, he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this grand feast.

The Void Realm wouldn’t just spawn a map for Ash, so there was only one possibility—a Mage skilled in a certain faction might have a way to ’absorb’ this map.

A term almost subconsciously appeared in Ash’s mind: Prophetic Faction.

Coincidentally, the Kingdom of Gospel was a place where the Prophetic Faction reigned supreme, so was there a possibility... Ash quickly smothered this ambitious thought. Rather than cultivating the Prophetic Faction himself, it would be more efficient and comfortable to hope for drawing a Prophetic Faction operator.

Ash, oh Ash, when facing a problem, don’t think first about what you should do, but consider how the job can be handed over to the right person. The skill of delegating learned in the workplace—how could it be forgotten in another world?

Ash took a moment to reflect on his lapse, then contentedly picked up the third piece of spoils.

The third spoil was very strange. Although Ash realized it was a Technique Spirit when he touched it, its exterior didn’t resemble one at all—it had no wings.

It looked like a triangular bipyramid sextahedron, which seemed like it could be used as an earring ornament; it was entirely transparent, but one side emanated a blue light.

However, the information that came from within it was an eye-opener for the Mages:

"Soul Summoning"

"Zero Wing Technique Spirit"

"Restriction: Can only appear in the Void Realm, and can only be used in the Void Realm."

"Effect ①·Soul Summoning: You can absorb the residual soul energy of soldiers."

"Effect ②·Command: You can bestow a soldier type upon yourself and followers, and doing so requires the consumption of soul energy. A Mage can bestow the same soldier type on multiple units, but only the armor can be stacked."

"Below are the currently summonable soldier types."

"Star Hall·Star Swordsman: Sword damage to souls increased by +15%. 3 layers of armor, humanoid, comes with a longsword. Consumes 1 point of soul energy per unit."

"Star Hall·Star Archer: Shooting damage to souls increased by +20%, shooting includes precision locking and does not reduce damage over distance. 2 layers of armor, humanoid, comes with a bow and arrow. Consumes 2 points of soul energy per unit."

"This Technique Spirit cannot evolve."

"This Technique Spirit can unlock different soldier types when absorbing identical Technique Spirits."

"Only one of the same Technique Spirit can be owned."

"’Congratulations, you have become a player in this never-ending game, though you don’t even qualify to be a pawn.’"

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