Mage Manual

Chapter 74: Chapter 69: Finding Teammates

“Shatter my Miracle, shatter my Miracle…”

Igula paced back and forth in the room, unconsciously biting his nails, unable to hold back his question, “Are you really sure you can perform a Miracle without being allowed to output Magic Power?”

“There is no guarantee,” Ash calmly replied, “Besides, I can’t perform it now, as I am still missing a critical Technique Spirit to complete ‘Shatter my Miracle.’”

“Then how do you—”

“I already told you, I have a secret channel to obtain Technique Spirits. I don’t know when I will find that critical Technique Spirit, but it’s only a matter of time.”

Igula opened his mouth but then closed it again.

Ash didn’t say, and naturally, Igula couldn’t guess what that so-called ‘secret channel’ was, but he hardly doubted the truth of the matter.

Because of the Scale Technique Spirit.

If Ash had the Scale Technique Spirit a few days ago, he wouldn’t have been unilaterally bound by Igula’s Contract Technique Spirit.

Although it was also possible that Ash was feigning ignorance to deceive, but with Igula being the one initiating the provocation, how could Ash have set a trap specifically against Igula?

Rather than believing in such a conspiracy theory that only exists probabilistically, Igula was more willing to believe in Ash’s potential.

It wasn’t because Igula was naive, optimistic, and adorable, but because Ash had personally demonstrated one miracle after another.

In a fight to the death with Igula, he went from a rookie who couldn’t even fight to a skilled boxer within minutes;

In a fight to the death with Valcas, he went from a rookie who couldn’t even hold a sword to a swordsmanship expert within minutes;

In the Blood Moon Judgement, he fearlessly faced the scorching of the Purification Flame, although he was the criminal with the deepest sins.

And now, with the sudden appearance of the Scale Technique Spirit, Igula felt he had no reason to doubt Ash. Even though Ash’s mention of a ‘secret channel’ under the prison’s supervision was nearly fantastical, in this world of Mages, Miracles were indeed the most common inevitability.

Moreover, Ash Heath was the leader of the Gods of Four Pillars cult.

Igula’s expression fluctuated, and with a clenched jaw and a stomp of his foot, he exclaimed, “Let’s do it!”

“However, just the two of us can’t break out of jail; I must recruit a few more people.”

“Of course,” Ash smiled, “The reason I approached you first is that you definitely know the other death row inmates. After all, being unfamiliar here, I need a crafty ‘local’ to form a team.”

“Thanks for the praise; as a Swindler, information is my weapon,” Igula bowed elegantly.

“So, whom shall we recruit?”

“I already have a preliminary plan—in the premise that you can use ‘Shatter my Miracle’ to remove the chip restrictions, we need three types of people: a Vanguard responsible for assault operations, a Destroyer responsible for sustained damage, and a Logistics Support responsible for rapid movement and healing.”

“That sounds like it requires professionals with very high skills, can we find them?”

“Are you joking?” Igula laughed.

“Criminals, murderers, black-market smugglers—aren’t these three types of people everywhere in Shattered Lake Prison?”

…

…

Kingdom of Stars, Jiale City.

Ingrid curiously watched the scenery outside in the villa district, Adelle excitedly touched the decorative leather inside the car, Lois, feeling embarrassed, quickly grabbed Adelle’s hand and made small talk, “Thank you for the invitation to your tea party, Felix.”

“No need to thank me,” Felix said gloomily while driving, “It’s Sonia who insisted on bringing her roommates, so I invited you… thank her if you want to.”

His words were quite impolite, showing Felix was in a bad mood, barely maintaining basic noble etiquette, which frightened Adelle from touching anything more.

Lois had no interest in continuing this awkward conversation and quietly observed Sonia, sitting in the passenger seat, wondering what their relationship was.

Today at noon, Sonia suddenly approached them, saying that Felix wanted to invite them to his villa for a tea party.

Tea parties are a common student activity, typically involving a few students gathering at a scenic location to enjoy pastries and red tea while gossiping and spreading rumors—many campus rumors start at such gatherings.

Lois had attended her fair share of tea parties, even specifically hosting some to speak ill of Sonia—if not for slander, the tea party would have been worthless.

Therefore, she found it odd that Sonia would want to invite her to a tea party, as the nature of such gatherings clearly showed they were meant for close-knit circles who shared gossip. Lois did not think her relationship with Sonia was close enough that they could comfortably talk about others behind their backs.

Even if Sonia wanted to bring friends to the tea party, she had been so close to Ingrid these days, inviting her would have sufficed, so why bring Lois and Adelle into it?

Moreover, considering this was a tea party held by Felix, and thinking of this playboy’s nefarious reputation, Lois instinctively assumed the worst about Sonia: keywords like ‘noble son’, ‘basement’, ‘imprisoning young girls’, ‘abuse’, and ‘slave’ surged in her mind.

However, before Lois could decline, Sonia suggested that they inform their parents about going to Felix’s tea party—if something untoward happened, it would surely be the misdeed of Duke Vosloda’s second son, and so forth…

Such thoughtful care left Lois somewhat puzzled, but Ingrid saw through the ruse and asked Sonia if they needed to be witnesses. Sonia didn’t specify, but assured that attending the tea party would be beneficial.

And the benefit was related to mages.

But if Felix had ill-intentions, they would be in trouble, hence Sonia’s insistence they tell their parents their whereabouts.

The setup sounded more like bait to lure naive girls, and under normal circumstances, Lois would have refused. But since it was Felix and Sonia — and they had both reminded them to notify their parents — coupled with Lois wanting to buy a Rapid Stream Technique Spirit from Sonia, she couldn’t afford to offend Sonia.

What sealed the decision was Ingrid’s agreement.

To quote her, “In the world of mages, adventure equals progress, caution equals retreat. If I can’t even take this little risk, I might as well go back home and get married.”

Maybe it was a young girl’s fascination with adventure, or perhaps the hints of matchmaking by her parents during her last visit home, or simply the refusal to be cowed in front of someone she despised—ultimately, Lois agreed to the tea party invitation.

As Lois’s sidekick, Adelle hardly thought twice before joining her.

But after boarding the car, the anxiety Lois had initially felt gradually subsided. Not only because many students had seen them entering Felix’s silver sedan but also because the route took them towards Jiale City’s affluent suburban area, monitored continuously by surveillance, and the suburb itself was a core area of Jiale City, a highly unlikely place for crimes.

The silver sedan drove into a luxurious mansion, and Adelle stepped out looking around: “Where are the servants?”

“No servants,” Felix answered indifferently. “Only when I’m not here do I hire housekeeping staff to maintain the mansion. Otherwise, no one else is here.”

Still naively, Adelle asked, “No servants, so how do we hold a tea party? Are we supposed to brew tea and make pastries ourselves?”

Lois, embarrassed, pulled her naive sidekick aside to explain the situation.

Felix led them into the mansion’s main hall, and summoned a scantily clad, one-winged Technique Spirit under the disdainful looks of everyone.

As if triggered by something, the fireplace suddenly opened, revealing a dark, spiral secret passage. @@novelbin@@

Sonia complained, “Must you make it this creepy and frightening? Do you also indulge in luring girls, murder, dissecting corpses, and skinning as hobbies?”

“Secrets are always associated with fear, darkness, and murder. Secrets aren’t inherently like this, they are just so fragile that they need to be protected with bluster,” Felix retorted irritably. “Would you rather I change the location to the school cafeteria?”

“If it’s the school cafeteria at midnight, that might still suit your needs.”

Sonia grumbled and followed Felix into the spiral passage, with Ingrid drawing a wooden sword from her scabbard and following closely behind. Lois and Adelle exchanged a glance, hugging each other tightly as they nervously brought up the rear.

Lois was already regretting her decision.

It wasn’t that she feared for her safety; she even believed she would benefit. But every gift comes with a price, and she sensed that as a consequence, she would become tied with Sonia and Felix, forming a mutually beneficial alliance.

She suddenly recalled a saying her merchant father had told her:

“Interest is the most stable relationship, secrets the most solid bond, and partners-in-crime the most genuine friends.”

After about thirty seconds, they arrived at an underground training room.

Shockingly, the room’s lighting wasn’t the usual civilian gas incandescent but an Artifact Spirit called ‘Day Star’, illuminating the large underground room as bright as daylight—Sword Flower University’s training gym also used only one ‘Day Star’ for lighting at night—details that underscored Felix’s extravagance.

Here, Felix seemed to shed his burdens and mask, carelessly opening a freezer in the corner to grab a bottle of wine and blowing off its dust, grumpily stating, “I’ve fulfilled my promise, met your demand, now you handle the rest.”

Ingrid stood at the staircase entrance, blocking the others, and asked, “Sonia, can you explain now?”

“No problem,” Sonia smiled and said, “Simply put—”

“Felix has a treasure he wants to split with me fifty-fifty. But how could I forget my dear roommates when such a good thing comes along? So I brought you all here to share in the treasure.”