Mage Manual

Chapter 69: Chapter 65 Vortex

Vortex, also known as the Shortcut to Fate, the Stairs of Advancement, or the Last Stroke of Luck for the Cursed, is an extremely rare natural wonder in the Sea of Knowledge.

Natural wonders are entirely different from other Void Realm existences. Knowledge creatures have their habitats, while Inheritance Islands and Adventure Islands remain unchanged for tens of thousands of years unless a mage steps foot on them. However, natural wonders appear at random times and locations and disappear after a certain period, almost like the most fabricated rumors in Void Realm folklore.

If the unluckiest mages could eventually encounter knowledge creatures, Inheritance Islands, and Adventure Islands in their lifetime, then even the luckiest mages might never come across a vortex in their entire life, which can be considered the ultimate fortune detector.

Those who encounter a vortex are envied, and for good reason—the powerful ability of the vortex: Spatial Transfer!

The mage who steps into the vortex will reappear at another vortex within the Sea of Knowledge.

While it does sound quite wonderful, why would such a simple spatial transfer arouse the desire of mages?

This is because the vortex is not just about transferring. It allows the mage to pass through the mysterious pathways within the vortex, crossing numerous regions of the Sea of Knowledge in just a few seconds; and at the same time, the foundational Law that ‘the further mages travel in the Sea of Knowledge, the more Magic Power they absorb’ still holds true!

If two vortices are ten thousand miles apart, then by merely passing through the vortex channel, a mage would be equivalent to having traveled ten thousand miles in the Sea of Knowledge, directly absorbing enough Magic Power to condense a complete set of Silver Wings!

How could that not drive mages crazy?

An ordinary mage, in theory, would need only two to three years of journeying to condense Silver Wings, provided the mage doesn’t die in the Sea of Knowledge—because besides the larger the Magic Power, the more severe the ‘Death Cool-down’ punishment, there’s another Damocles’ Sword hanging over the mages’ heads: the more Magic Power they have, the greater the likelihood of encountering danger grows!

Each time a mage opens the Gate of Truth and enters the Void Realm, the point of arrival is actually different. It’s not the same location where the previous exploration concluded.

The more robust a mage’s Magic Power, the closer their landing site in the Void Realm will be to the core regions of the Sea of Knowledge. The Inheritance Islands and knowledge creatures of the core regions not only yield more abundant spoils but also pose greater dangers!

Many an Official Mage, on the eve of being able to condense the Silver Wings, would be attacked by knowledge creatures the moment they entered the Void Realm. Turning to flee, they’d encounter even more formidable knowledge creatures, served consecutively by several beasts, enjoying themselves straight out of the Void Realm.

Exploring for a few minutes, cooling down for a dozen days—often this is the true picture of these ‘Half-step Perfection’ mages.

Therefore, the nickname for vortexes as ‘the Last Stroke of Luck for the Cursed’ wasn’t unfounded: it’s not only that mages who encountered vortices had to deplete a lifetime’s worth of luck, but also because mages with a sudden increase in Magic Power would find it exceedingly difficult to explore the higher difficulty areas of the Sea of Knowledge—in extreme cases, they might even suffer an equivalent of ranking down from playing out of their league.

Although that’s the case, there wasn’t a mage who didn’t yearn for a vortex. And in places with a substantial number of mages, lucky individuals who encountered a vortex would sometimes appear—like Reonie, who had beaten up Sonia in the morning. She had condensed her Silver Wings at an alarmingly quick rate, leading many students to conjecture that she might have encountered a short-distance vortex. They were all green with envy.

After listening to Sonia’s explanation, Ash couldn’t help but get excited. He was the one who currently needed strength the most urgently; with every ounce he gained, his hope for escape grew!

Moreover, having suddenly acquired three Technique Spirits, it was clear his Magic Power was insufficient.

Heart Sword and Wind Barrier were manageable, but the Earth Sword Technique Spirit was a Two-winged Technique Spirit—it guzzled Magic Power like a torrential faucet, yet the effect it produced was not even a fifth of its potential.

The reason Ash could show off in front of the Sword Maiden earlier, creating a Sword Barrier that the Thunder Holder could not break, was that his Magic Power had now dwindled to less than one-fifth. He would have to think about how to trick the Sword Maiden into exerting more force in the upcoming fight.

The boat pierced through layers of white mist, and soon, the vortex appeared before them.

Living up to its reputation as a natural wonder, the vortex was indeed very bizarre and mysterious—a continuously rotating whirlpool, yet the surrounding waters remained as calm as if they were mere spectators, not disturbed by the vortex at all.

Even when their boat was less than two meters away from the vortex, it felt no pull whatsoever. If a mage had poor eyesight, they might swim right past it without ever realizing a natural wonder was beside them.

“Quick, let’s go! The vortex could disappear at any moment!”

“Wait.”

Ash noticed that when they entered the region of the vortex, the range of their map exploration suddenly extended with two very long routes. At the farthest end of each route, there were two notes: “Wait a moment,” and “No danger but you may not randomly get here.”

“I think we’d better wait a moment.”

“Is this the effect of your detection ability?” @@novelbin@@

“The Vortex seems to randomly lead to two other ones; one requires waiting, while the other is safe.”

Last time, because they waited for a bit, they caught the opportunity when the fox was watching the dragon sleep—Sonia naturally trusted the Observer’s judgment.

However, after waiting for more than ten seconds, she saw the Vortex shrinking and couldn’t help but become anxious, “If I could enter the Vortex just once, it would be worth it even if I died! It just means a few days without entering the Void Realm!”

Ash glanced at her, “If I can’t enter the Void Realm for a few days, then the probability of me collecting all the Miracle Technique Spirits becomes even slimmer.”

Sonia was left speechless.

Compared to life, the growth of magic power indeed seemed trivial, but…

She looked at the shrinking Vortex, wanting to say something yet stopping herself, then trying to stop herself yet wanting to speak again.

“You want to go in first? And let me wait till it’s safe before entering?” Ash saw her thoughts at a glance, “It sounds feasible, but it actually won’t work—have you forgotten? I can’t open the Gate of Truth in prison, and if you die, I still can’t enter the Void Realm. We’re bound together, for better or for worse.”

“However, I’m also not sure if my judgment is correct. After all, there’s a fifty percent chance of reaching the safe Vortex; even if we’re unlucky and enter a dangerous one, it doesn’t necessarily mean death. And if we miss this Vortex, we truly miss it. If you want to go, I don’t mind.”

“Really don’t mind?”

“Don’t mind.”

“You won’t hold a grudge and take revenge on me?”

“I won’t.”

“You won’t bring this up suddenly one day to blame me?”

“I won’t.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Observer, you really are dishonest, even deceiving a female college student like me.” Sonia sighed despondently, staring at the Vortex, “If we really miss this Vortex, I’ll definitely bring up this old score and scold you every time you make a mistake in the future.”

“I really don’t mind.”

“I don’t believe it. If it were me, I would hold a grudge for a lifetime, remembering on my deathbed that I missed a chance at a Vortex.”

Ash was knocked flat, “That’s you, not me; I’m not as… petty as you are.”

“I only trust myself, so I believe you’re the same type of person.”

Sonia pouted.

“I’m not so selfish as to think everyone else is selfless. Anyway, I waited with you this time; you better remember my sacrifice is huge. You should write down my good deeds in a little book, and remember to share some spoils with me if you get anything good in the future.”

Ash was slightly taken aback, suddenly feeling as though he had another reason to escape prison.

Is there really no stranger in this world worth his concern? It doesn’t seem so.

“Of course, if I ever have a piece of meat to eat, I’ll definitely call you over to catch a whiff of the aroma.”

“You really are a loudspeaker…”