Mage Manual

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Don’t Blame Me

Kingdom of Stars, Jiale City, Sword and Rose Mage University.

“…when facing a Turbid Heart Monster, unless a Sword Master can pierce its brainstem immediately—decapitation is useless, as long as the Turbid Heart Monster still has its brain it can launch an attack—otherwise, they will be influenced by its Technique Spirit ‘Frenzy’. Upon noticing growing impatience, a Sword Master must pierce their own thigh to remain alert with pain, allowing the other ranged Mages in the squad to kill the Turbid Heart Monster…”

The only sound in the terraced classroom was the teacher’s steady voice. Sonia, sitting by the window, looked out at the three shining stars in the sky; warm sunlight spread over the grass, the walkways, and the benches, making all things in the world glimmer.

“Sonia!” Ingrid whispered sharply, “Don’t space out during class.”

Sonia, who was resonating with the real-world light, smiled slightly, “It’s not like it’s an important class, and my bracelet is taking notes anyway, even if I’m distracted…”

“This is the most important ‘Introduction to Swordsmanship’!” Ingrid said seriously, “Don’t you plan on entering the Abyss in the future? Aren’t you afraid of danger? What good are notes from a bracelet? This class teaches the most vital knowledge about facing enemies; you can’t be too careful when it comes to safety!”

“Cough cough!”

The teacher on the podium coughed twice, and the two hurriedly sat up and listened attentively.

‘Introduction to Swordsmanship’ was not about teaching lofty theories, but about the responses a Sword Master should make against different enemies, in different environments. The reason for this course’s existence is closely related to the future career direction of a Sword Master.

A Sword Master was undoubtedly a pure Combat Mage, not like a Water Mage who could become a Healing Mage, or a Mechanical Mage who could become a Creation Mage. If there were an era of complete peace, the Sword Master would certainly decline and might even face the extinction of their lineage.

The prosperity of swordsmanship in the Kingdom of Stars was because the world was not safe, constantly threatened by the Abyss.

The Abyss was not a fixed location, but a randomly appearing nest of monsters. Though random, there were patterns to predict: it would only appear in populous cities, or rather, the more Mages in a place, the more likely an Abyss would appear.

As a core city of the Kingdom of Stars, Jiale City naturally suppressed the largest Abyss.

To this day, no scholar had been able to explain the origin of the Abyss, but the threat it posed had to be addressed. The Abyss could not be eradicated, and the deeper one went, the stronger the monsters became, with creatures of the Three-winged Holy Realm and Four-winged Legendary levels appearing in the depths, though surface monsters were far from easy to handle either.

The terrain of the Abyss would drastically change after a period, preventing Mages from establishing camps, and it would periodically erupt, causing Legendary monsters to emerge on the surface; thus Mages had to withdraw from the Abyss during these times.

Due to these restrictions, the ‘regular sweeping of the Abyss’ had become a very important social division of labor. Apart from a few who could become ‘riot advisors’ for nobles or companies, most Sword Masters would form squads with other Mages to venture into the Abyss and clear out monsters on a regular basis.

This was not considered dirty work, but a very decent career path, because in addition to the ‘extermination gold’ awarded by the state, various spoils dropped by Abyss monsters were extremely valuable and sometimes scarce resource spots could be found in the Abyss.

Many nobles had their origins in Abyss adventure teams, and countless Mages had found their fortune in the Abyss.

But risk was proportionate to reward; nearly all Abyss monsters were inhabited by Technique Spirits and had combat powers no less formidable than Mages. Every day countless Mages perished in the Abyss, and entire teams could be destroyed, becoming nourishment for the Abyss.

That was why Ingrid was so discontented with Sonia’s attitude: listening for even one more second in ‘Introduction to Swordsmanship’ would add to her vigilance when faced with danger in the Abyss!

But Sonia had just absorbed an Experience Treasure Orb and felt like a child with a new toy, her heart brimming with excitement, focusing entirely on corroborating the knowledge of the Radiant Faction. Moreover, she didn’t believe she would venture into the Abyss—there might have been a chance in the past, but now, with her talent, and given the backing of the Observer, she could achieve the Three-winged Holy Realm just by following the steps. Why should she struggle in the Abyss with others, fighting for her life?

‘Introduction to Swordsmanship’ class ended, followed by ‘Practical Swordsmanship’, a sparring class among Sword Skill students. On her way to the Practical Combat Hall, she noticed students observing her and whispering.

Sonia wasn’t surprised by this; since Professor Trozan had her skip all procedures and transfer into the Sword Skill department, she had become a focal point and a daily topic among students. @@novelbin@@

But today was different—aside from Sonia, students were also observing Felix.

“Look, she’s the one who dumped Celia…”

“Probably Sonia will get dumped soon too…”

“I knew she was just that type of person from the beginning…”

Though she only caught snippets of conversation, Sonia had a rough idea of what had happened—news of Felix breaking up with Celia had spread, and as the most recent woman seen with Felix, Sonia inevitably became the center of everyone’s attention.

Don’t cause me trouble… Sonia thought, wanting only to keep a low profile and accumulate her strengths, unwilling to be entangled in these trivial matters.

But women have a strong capacity for Prophecy, especially when predicting misfortune—as soon as Sonia entered the Practical Combat Hall, she found many unfamiliar faces, and the one person she did recognize