Mage Manual-Chapter 300 - 257: The Observer and the Witch’s One-on-One Date (?)
Chapter 300: Chapter 257: The Observer and the Witch’s One-on-One Date (?)
"Sword Maiden’s Leave Request"
"I’m going to a very important match tonight, so I’m requesting leave. I hope you won’t take it the wrong way."
"Effect: Paid Leave (1/15) (Bonds Level 1): You will give 30% of the Magic Power you earn during Void Realm Exploration to the team member on leave."
"Effect: Bonus Sharing (1/10) (Bonds Level 2): You will give 30% of the Faction Realm you earn during Void Realm Exploration to the team member on leave."
"Effect: Shared Prosperity (1/5) (Bonds Level 3): Special mechanisms you encounter during Void Realm Exploration have a chance of being shared with the team member on leave."
Operators can take leaves now!?
Daring to take a leave now, what on earth will they dare to do next is too scary to imagine!
Taking leave and still want a cut of my bonus!? A share of my project experience?!
Is this really my company’s game? Shouldn’t it be where annual leave is virtually non-existent, sick leave is considered an absence, and personal leave means a deduction of your bonus? And what does this (1/15) mean? Does it mean the Sword Maiden can take 15 days of paid leave?
days of paid leave a year, are you exploiting me!?
...Wait a second, does this limit refresh annually or monthly?
Ash didn’t dare to continue pondering, otherwise, he would be dragged into the mire of memories of his years of working life, sinking into despondency so deep that it would be like a reformed delinquent unable to recall the harrowing days past.
However, Ash wasn’t surprised that the Sword Maiden had triggered her personal story. He had heard her mention something about a college league at school, which was clearly the so-called path of swagger set for the Sword Maiden, the chosen storyline. Surely, the first main storyline of the Sword Maiden must be to take on the college league, followed by trials like the Abyss challenges, noble infighting, and other classic fantasy narratives, until she becomes a Legendary Mage step by step.
Upon further reflection, the Sword Maiden’s story seemed far more fantastical than Ash’s. Starting in an academy and then competing in matches—if there were any involvement in national conspiracies leading to saving the world, it would represent a complete, quintessential fantasy storyline, unlike Ash’s which started with a prison melee, something you’d see less often even in crime films.
I really want to see Sword Maiden’s moments of glory...
Speaking of which, although Sword Maiden had always talked about the trivia of her life, Ash never really felt any tangibility to it; her life remained but a pale description in words.
It was only when the Sword Maiden suddenly handed out a leave request to go on a match, that Ash felt the Sword Maiden indeed had another kind of life—that was her reality. She had family, friends, mentors, distant dreams, as well as happiness within reach.
But it didn’t include Ash.
Final Observer and Death Mad Sword Maiden were just friends in the Void Realm, just as the Sword Maiden could not touch his own life, nor could he watch her match.
Thinking of this made Ash feel a little lonely, like when an online gaming friend with whom you’d seamlessly cooperate on missions suddenly said they couldn’t come tonight because they had a date with a girlfriend—it was like a sense of betrayal.
But he quickly got over this minor emotional hitch and silently cheered for the Sword Maiden.
As long as the Sword Maiden won, she would gain more resources, more opportunities, and that would help advance her personal storyline...
...But if she lost, would she then stop progressing through the storyline, and have more time to explore the Void Realm with me?
Pfft~
Ash sunk his entire body into the bathtub and held his breath, only surfacing after nearly a minute, clearing his mind of silly thoughts, brushing his teeth, changing into pajamas, and getting ready for tonight’s Void Realm Exploration.
Since Sword Maiden wasn’t coming, it would just be Ash and Witch tonight, right?
Within the "Void Realm Exploration" – "Team Formation" section, Ash dragged himself and Witch into it.
...
...
"Big sis, help me wash my hair!"
White Queen: "No, it’s been three days; you need to learn to bathe yourself by now. You can’t rely on us for everything you don’t like!"
"Sob... Soap got in my eyes! It hurts!"
Liss reached for the shower tap but slipped, almost shattering her behind on the floor. Suddenly, she thrust her hand down, flipped over, and stood steadily on the wooden floor slick with water.
Half of her white hair had turned red, her expression became very indifferent, as she sat on a small stool and continued washing her hair.
The White Queen, in the mirror, spoke irritably, "Just spoil her, Little Red! What kind of kid doesn’t even know how to wash their hair—you see she even bought herself new shampoo."
Black Butler: "Being able to wash hair isn’t anything great, so what if she can’t? We didn’t know how to either, back in the day."
"You also know that was the past," said the White Queen. "All this is to cultivate her ability to live independently. She can’t always come to us whenever she encounters a problem. How is that any different from Diya? She should handle these kinds of trivial matters herself."
"What’s that got to do with me?" inquired Diya.
While they were speaking, the Red Death Cultist efficiently finished washing her hair, giving Liss back control of her body. Liss knew her sisters were angry again, so she obediently completed the remaining bathing steps, dried every inch of her body with a towel, put on her pajamas, and even brushed her teeth ahead of time – only then did the White Queen’s expression in the mirror start to soften.
Returning to her bedroom, Liss sat down at the dressing table to dry her hair but saw her reflection in the mirror lick her finger and write a few words:
"Tonight, you open the Gate of Truth."
Liss paused. "A message from Observer brother?"
"Hmm?" Her sisters looked puzzled. "What happened?"
Liss told them what had just happened. The White Queen pondered, "I had almost forgotten that to enter the Void Realm, one must pass through the Gate of Truth. I thought the Observer had other methods... So, was it them who opened the Gate of Truth the last two nights?"
"Why do they want us to open it tonight? Could it be a trap?" asked the Black Butler.
"Maybe it’s on rotation. Tonight us, tomorrow the Sword Maiden, the day after the Observer..." Diya speculated.
After some discussion and no conclusion reached, Liss, having finished drying her hair, couldn’t help but yawn. So Diya possessed her, summoned the Mask Technique Spirit, captured the Gate of Truth, delved into consciousness, and connected to the Void Realm.
When Diya opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in the front seat of a sports car. The car, which last night could have almost been scrapped and converted into a public toilet, now gleamed anew, restored to its original condition.
Diya was actually the most concerned of the trio that the car might not be fixable – after all, only she who had trekked through the Void Realm on foot for over a month knew that driving on the Time Continent was a supremely prestigious privilege not even to be traded for an emperor.
She stretched comfortably in the seat, bending her head back into a curve that would cure cervical spondylosis: "Sword Maiden, I—"
Diya’s words suddenly halted mid-sentence as she stood on the seat, looking around: "Where’s the Sword Maiden? Has she gotten lost in the Golden Rain?"
"She’s got a competition tonight and has taken a day off," Ash explained. "Tonight, it’s just the two of us exploring the Void Realm."
"What kind of competition?"
"I don’t know, but it’s probably a battle between mages."
"Oh, I really want to watch!"
"I do too."
After the brief exchange, Diya sat down properly, her gaze lowered to her knees, idly twirling her fingers. Ash opened the Void Realm Map and shook his head, "We’re not lucky; we didn’t land in a mapped area of the Star Hall. Looks like we have to continue exploring the unknown."
"Mm-hmm!"
The sports car burst through the Golden Rain, crushing grass and shattering trees, running wild and free. The car was very quiet; the two occupants were like a driver and passenger abiding by traffic laws, the passenger not speaking to the driver, the driver not chatting with the passenger.
For some reason, there was an awkward silence.
Even though they’d both previously spent time alone with the ’Observer’ and the ’Witch,’ the other parties had come with a purpose, talked, and then left without dragging the conversation. However, during the lulls in exploration, they didn’t have any proper topics to discuss, and what they needed were pointless banter to fill the gap.
However, Ash and Diya rarely engaged in pointless conversations.
Previously, it was either Ash chatting with Sonia or Diya pestering Sonia by acting coquettish. As the most emotionally intelligent member of the trio, Sonia was subtly the core of their team. When she talked with Ash, she made sure to involve Diya in the conversation; when Diya clung to her, she would pretend to be annoyed and bring up Ash, ensuring everyone was included and nobody was left out.
It wasn’t something Sonia did deliberately; rather, her year of cultivation in social tactics had become second nature to her. Every look, every word was a miraculously natural expression of her social prowess.
However, with Sonia absent, the emotional intelligence deficit between the two became apparent – Diya’s case aside, Ash’s emotional intelligence was a ’male artifact’; put him with men, and he would quickly blend in, but with women... he didn’t know what topics to discuss. freёnovelkiss-com
If Igula were sitting next to him, he would start with "Have you been in love? Planning to have kids in the future? If you could turn into a beauty, would you want to be a voluptuous older woman or a dainty and supple young girl?" and so on, his pointless banter could go on until dawn.
It was the same for Diya. With her wealth of experience as a little sister, she knew how to naturally seek Sonia’s affection. She had dared to flirt with Ash before because Sonia had been there, like a bold child in the presence of a parent.
Damn it, she thought, if only I hadn’t revealed my sister’s identity yesterday, then we could switch to the White Queen now. But since the Observer knew the traits of her sisters, changing would seem rude, and it would be even more awkward.
"There’s a sorcerer projection ahead," Ash suddenly said.
"Oh, just run it over."
"Mm."
A tranquil night began.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is fre(e)novelkiss
