Mage Manual

Chapter 124: Chapter 113 Seeking Advice from Single Dogs on Heartbreak

Sword Flower University, Sen Hall Library.

Although it couldn’t compare to the four Gate of Truth Libraries of Truth University, Sen Hall and Flower Library at Sword Flower University were considered top attractions in Jiale City, not for their collection of books—they didn’t even rank in the top ten in Jiale City—but for their pleasant and comfortable environment. They were ranked in the top two unshakable positions and were known within the university as the ‘top dating spot for couples.’

Unlike the competing beauty of the blooming Flower Library, the theme of Sen Hall was ‘Peaceful Forest.’ From the outside, it looked like a dense, thriving forest, complete with little bridges over streams, mating rabbits, squirrels munching on pinecones, and a cool, comfortable breeze through the trees. There were cozy swings, benches, tree houses, and even bears—yes, very friendly bears that one could lean against to read a book.

For Sonia, the most wonderful thing about Sen Hall was that there were no mosquitoes.

This fact truly shocked her; a village girl who had grown up in a farming town and often went to the forest to pick mushrooms.

However, for the sake of a comfortable reading experience, many functional aspects of a library had to be sacrificed. The books were stored inside the tree trunks, and Sen Hall consisted of four levels connected by winding tree trunks. Even those with a map could easily get lost on their first visit to Sen Hall.

Sonia was not visiting Sen Hall for the first time and knew how to connect to the library’s navigation index through her Miracle Bracelet, but it still took her a lot of effort to find the book she needed.

When she wanted to find a bench to sit and read, she unexpectedly ran into her ‘nemesis.’

“Hello, senior.”

Sonia looked at Celia approaching and noted that the third-year senior looked a little haggard compared to when they first met. However, this did not detract from her beauty. Instead, it added a lovable quality to her, making one want to protect her. This was evident from the male students nearby, who were glancing her way while pretending to read.

Celia also seemed surprised. She nodded slightly, and just as she was about to pass Sonia, she suddenly stopped. “Last time… I caused you trouble.”

“Yes, you did. How do you plan to make it up to me?”

As soon as she spoke, Sonia realized she had already completed the ‘Sincerity’ ritual and didn’t need to tell the truth anymore—but whether it was the influence of the Sincerity Technique Spirit or just residue from the past few days, she always ended up telling the truth when she should have been tactful with her lies.

Celia paused, covered her mouth, and chuckled, “How about I treat you to a drink of tree sap?”

There was a water café within Sen Hall, where the beverages all had a forest theme, such as ‘tree sap,’ ‘flower nectar,’ and ‘dew.’ Although the names might sound unappealing, these beverages were crafted by Water Mage students as a part-time job, and their taste and texture far surpassed ordinary drinks. They were cheaper than outside and very popular among the students.

Since Celia wanted to mend their relationship and Sonia, who had no direct conflict of interest, naturally didn’t mind expanding her network. She happily agreed to go with her to the water café and ordered a drink called ‘Dew on Grass Blades.’

“I’m sorry,” Celia began after they sat down. “I was too impulsive last time. I didn’t think things through. If there’s anything you need me to do, just let me know, and I’ll do my best to make it up to you.”

Seeing that Celia was truly sincere, Sonia eased her tone, “Although you were 99% at fault, didn’t I have 1% of the fault too? Perhaps my actions led to some misunderstandings… By the way, senior, I saw you played the third female lead in ‘I Take the Child’s Last Name.’ That’s really impressive!”

Celia, understanding the subtlety in Sonia’s praise, was somewhat surprised. “My uncle directed and wrote that film, so he let me make a cameo… Sonia, are you interested in a career as a Shadow Actress?”

“Yeah!” Sonia’s eyes lit up. “I actually read some performance-related books in private.”

Although Celia was shocked that Sonia wasn’t aspiring to become a Sword Saint, she didn’t say much apart from expressing that she would do her best to ask her uncle to arrange a good role for Sonia.

“Others might not get this opportunity from my uncle, but you are now the disciple of the Hidden Hand Sword Saint and the fastest Mage to deploy Silver Wings at Sword Flower University. Just this resume will add a lot of attention to your profile, which is like extra promotional resources. However, if you perform poorly in the film and fail to make an impression on the audience, you will quickly fade into obscurity,” Celia seriously added, “I can only offer you one opportunity; whether you can seize it still depends on your hard work and luck. But my uncle doesn’t have any filming plans recently, so you might have to wait a long time.”

“No problem, I still have three years before I graduate!”

The two hit it off straight away, and the atmosphere became much more amiable. After chatting about campus life for a while, Celia shyly asked, “I heard he… is he still single?”

What else? Could he have turned into a dog?

Sonia knew who Celia was referring to and nodded, “I haven’t seen any other girls around him.”

“So you—”

“Absolutely not.”

Celia breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, their drinks arrived. Sonia took a sip of her ‘Dew on Grass Blades’ and was surprised by the creamy, milky taste, reminiscent of milk tea but refreshing and not cloying. She thought to herself that if she could become a Water Mage, that would be great.

Even though her roommate could become a Water Mage and she could freeload a few drinks, Lois and others didn’t seem interested in becoming Creation Mages…

Celia hesitated and then said, “This isn’t like him… In the past, he would always start a new relationship immediately after ending one…”

“Uh huh.”

“Do you think… he’s still thinking about me?”

Sonia almost spit out her drink and had a hard time managing her expression. Looking at Celia’s longing and anxious expression, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity.

After the “Sincerity” summoning ritual and her recent experiences with mages, Sonia faintly realized that Felix’s “luring the butterflies” behavior was probably a ritual or a necessary condition to incite a resonance with the Technique Spirit.

When Felix became a mage, he immediately broke off all romantic relationships and never went to those entertainment venues again, spending his days studying or in rigorous training. Sonia didn’t think the Void Realm had the power to reform one’s principles; therefore, this could only mean that Felix had been pretending, and after becoming a mage, he naturally had no need for such a disguise.

But she felt there was no need to tell Celia all this—first, these were just her speculations, and second, Celia still had a chance.

Celia really had great attributes—black hair draped over her shoulders, delicate features, a tall figure, and excellent curves; even buns were just the right size, only slightly smaller than hers. Most importantly, she was genuinely fond of him—who could resist the pursuit of a pitiable and beautiful school senior with long black hair?

“It’s possible!”

“You think so too!”

Celia said happily, “Then what do you think I should do to get back together with Felix?”

“Well, that…” Sonia suddenly recalled a question she encountered in Fate Q&A, “For a greater good? To face a common threat?”

Seeing Celia’s slightly confused look, Sonia remembered they were still students and reconciling didn’t need such complicated reasons: “In fact, you just need to step into his life proactively, and he won’t reject you. Of course, don’t rush at him aiming for reconciliation right away; you can say you are there to clarify misunderstandings and start as friends. If needed, I can even create a chance meeting for you.”

“Uh huh.”

“As long as you can get familiar with each other again, then many tactics can come into play,” Sonia smiled. “Like the Woodpecker Tactic.”

“The Woodpecker Tactic?”

“That’s when you can occasionally sigh in the middle of a conversation and say it’s nothing when he asks; or suddenly fall silent during a talk, occasionally appearing listless, making him worry about you but you don’t clarify why; then you also need to occasionally lean on him, act coquettishly with him, making him feel you cannot do without him. Through these frequent emotional probes, you can eventually achieve superficial emotional control, where a sigh or a gesture from you would affect his emotions, making him fully focused on you. I call this the Woodpecker Tactic.”

Getting caught up in her explanation, Sonia continued, “If you successfully reconcile, then you can move on to the second step: Negative Emotion Transfer and Positive Emotion Control. Simply put, when you’re upset, you must share it with him, making him upset too; but if he encounters something joyful and wants to share it with you, and it’s not something you like, then you need to negate him and suppress him. In short, he cannot be happy when you are unhappy, and he can only be happy within the confines you allow.”

“The third step is Time Chaos, where when he is kind to you, you must keep calm and make him promise to be this kind to you for the rest of his life; extending his dedication lifelong, normalizing his gestures.”

“Then, combining it with the fourth step, the Historical Projection, when he becomes cold toward you, you can conjure up projections of his past to prove his change of heart. Of course, as long as he is willing to apologize, you should reward him a bit.”

“With these four steps mastered, Felix will definitely become your devoted consort, a perfect partner!”

Celia blinked her eyes and only when Sonia stopped did she smile and ask, “Sonia, have you ever been in love?”

Sonia’s face turned red: “No. I’m sorry, I was too arrogant, pretending to know all about these useless personal shallow concepts in front of my senior…”

Celia shook her head gently: “No, these ‘techniques’ are very practical. If it were before, I would have been happy to learn and use these ‘techniques’.”

“But love is a kind of ‘miracle.'” she said softly. “I don’t want to hurt him or see him unhappy. I just hope… I can stand by his side.”

Sonia paused, now noticing that the books Celia was holding were “Sword ∙ Wind ∙ Abyss,” “Wind Mage Tutorial,” and “Recommended Battle Technique Spirits for Wind Mages”—essentially all about how Wind Mages can assist Sword Masters in combat.

Celia smiled and said, “Still, thanks for your advice, I might trouble you again in the future; can we add each other on Veil?”

“Of course, no problem.”

They exchanged personal Veil contacts, and from then on, they could communicate directly through the Miracle Bracelet within the Veil.

Celia looked at Sonia’s books: “By the way, Sonia, are you planning to self-study the Spirit Faction? But these two seem…”

“Dream Analysis” and “Detailed Study of Psychological Language” were essential readings for the Spirit Faction, but the other two confused Celia a bit: “Days Walking With a Sin Mage” and “How To Alleviate Psychological Stress in Others.”

The former was almost like an adventure novel, while the latter, although related to the Spirit Faction, leaned more toward practical guidebooks, not much helpful for studying the Spirit Faction.