Mage Manual

Chapter 80: Chapter 73 News of the Golden Fish (Three Updates)

Void Realm, Sea of Knowledge.

“All day long, you couldn’t find a single companion willing to break out with you?”

With a forceful chop, Sonia’s Sword Qi fluctuations split into several continuously revolving rings, gnawing at the earth barrier in front of her like an electric saw. This was her newly learned Miracle, “Crack Wave Slash.”

“Yes.”

Ash sighed and mimicked a sword with his hand, guiding the Heart Sword to pierce through the earth barrier. Yet, as one layer of the barrier was penetrated, another layer would regenerate, seemingly endless.

“Not even one?”

“Not exactly none, but aside from Igula who I’ve bound with a Contract, the others are unwilling… or rather, they don’t believe.”

“If Shattered Lake Prison has never had a breakout before, they really have reason not to believe you.”

“It’s not just that,” Ash sighed again, “Rather than saying it’s because of objective reasons that they don’t believe, it’s more that they subjectively refuse to believe.”

Throughout the day, Ash had followed Igula to persuade other powerful prisoners, like “Diamond” Tieg, “Black Beast” Tuk, and “Lark” Jewel. Each one, before imprisonment, was a wicked Mage whose criminal exploits could fill a thrilling novel.

But they all refused to join the prison break.

Truthfully, Ash wasn’t surprised. Given the oppressive rule of Shattered Lake Prison and its almost completely isolated island setting, it would be abnormal for convicted prisoners to immediately believe that they could escape. Skepticism was reasonable.

However, the issue was that the attitude of the prisoners wasn’t just skeptical—it was resistant.

They resisted breaking out.

Keep in mind, it wasn’t Ash who negotiated; it was “Beautiful Beast” Igula, somewhat of a celebrity in prison. Though a Swindler, Igula was well-regarded, rarely lied, and was even one of the few information dealers in the prison, with a very good reputation.

In his words, “Lying is a taboo for Swindlers, credibility is a Swindler’s face, honesty is the most important quality of a Swindler. The greatest failure for a Swindler is when people refuse to communicate with them.”

So, what Igula said carried weight. Even if the condemned men didn’t believe, they should have asked Igula for more information to make further judgments.

But the condemned men didn’t.

Even when Igula suggested he “might have a way to remove the chip restrictions,” none asked further like “how” or “really?”, instead showing a “give it a rest” expression, skipping the topic, or simply walking away.

In such a vast prison, not finding even one companion willing to escape made Ash comment that this was the worst batch of criminals he’d ever seen.

But Igula had anticipated this.

During dinner, he solved Ash’s confusion with a single sentence.

“They are no longer who they used to be; even poop, if left long enough, turns into fertilizer.”

If time is the best poison, then Shattered Lake Prison is undoubtedly the best cesspool. Harmful or toxic, everything that enters must transform into nutrients.

Ordinary people can change a lot over a few years, so how could these convicted prisoners, having spent so much time in prison, still be their brutally wicked former selves?

Many even sincerely repented their criminal pasts when reminiscing, feeling how naive and impulsive they once were. Even without regrets, they gradually lost hope for the outside world and found their places within Shattered Lake Prison.

Igula was right; Shattered Lake Prison truly was a utopia. It banned all crimes, there was no discrimination, no foul language, no conflicts, and it was impossible for things like queue-jumping or public urination to occur.

As long as one abided by the rules, everyone could live quite freely, not needing to cater to others as no one could harm you or affect your interests—a true equality for everyone.

The reasons the prisoners committed severe crimes out of greed, baseness, or impulse were because they were accustomed to a lifestyle filled with crime, which was the only way they felt at ease.

And Shattered Lake Prison forcibly changed that lifestyle to one where they could still feel at ease.

Being content is addictive.

When someone spends a long period in such an environment, stepping away from complex social relationships and the competitive outside world, even if the prisoners scorned the various prohibitions of the prison, they felt lost when asked to leave the prison for society, especially when they could live a peaceful life inside the prison.

Many prisoners couldn’t even manage to get up early, let alone leave their comfort zones.

Thinking this way, Ash realized that the reformation of the prisoners at Shattered Lake Prison was very successful. Without the need for manual labor or punishments, simply relying on various restrictions, KPI assessments, and the bottom-out system, they transformed the convicts into compliant workers who willingly do overtime in the prison; contributing their surplus value; and if not, they take part in live-streamed trials to earn money, always having a job suitable for a convicted prisoner.

Ash and Igula’s solicitation was like inviting them out to start a business with an uncertain future, insufficient funds, and requiring them to contribute out of their own pockets.

Most importantly, even if the venture failed, that’s one thing, but if it succeeded, wouldn’t they just have to return to the society where everything has to be struggled for again?

“Thinking about it makes me feel terrified, so I hurry to buy a toy gun to rob a bank, and then wait for the Crime Hunting Hall to take me home.”

“Even if it was Igula, without Ash binding him to himself with a rebound Contract, he probably would have been unwilling to participate in a prison break. Indeed, he would have lived better on the outside, but he would have been nervous and weak from fear of the Crime Hunting Hall.”

“Here, even Swindlers feel safe.”

“If it weren’t for Professor Selin and the Blood Moon Judgement, Ash would think of Shattered Lake Prison as not a bad place for a vacation. Here, not only could you enjoy the scenery, but you could also forcibly cleanse your soul, and after leaving, you could never again fart beneath the covers at home, but would have to run to the toilet.”

“Therefore, Ash kept feeling like he was the big villain who forced the good into prostitution, always wanting to drag these death row inmates who had washed their hands clean back into the fray. Igula was like an innocent girl caught by Ash; she had thought about living her life quietly, but now she had no choice but to become Ash’s top Mage…”

Clap!

With a muffled sound, the earth barrier that Ash and Sonia had been attacking for a solid fifteen minutes finally burst open, revealing an old Mage hiding inside. Before he could even speak, ‘Evil Light Slash’ and ‘Heart Sword’ directly scattered him, releasing three Technique Spirits and a Mage’s Handbook.

This was the best Mage inheritance Ash had encountered since entering the Void Realm.

Because this Mage was not a Combat Mage.

He couldn’t fight at all, he only knew how to endlessly create earth walls for defense. At first, Ash was a little afraid that spikes might suddenly appear from the ground to give him an uncomfortable massage, but nothing happened. The Mage’s projection was always cowardly hiding inside the earth barrier, as if this inheritance was just testing their output efficiency.

“This type of Mage is actually mainstream,” Sonia said, “or rather, Mages who specialize in combat are rare. Most Mages learn skills that can secure them a good job in the production faction, and then they add on a bit of the Combat Faction. Many Mages go their whole lives without ever owning a Combat Technique Spirit, and hardly ever get the chance to fight, like Medical Practitioners, Meteorologists, Architects, Planting Masters…”

She muttered, “If it weren’t for your insistence that I learn swordsmanship, I might now be a Water Magic Medical Practitioner far removed from battle.” @@novelbin@@

Ash felt a little surprised, “But you can’t completely avoid learning to fight, can you? Even if you don’t need to fight in reality, Void Realm knowledge creatures won’t just check their ID and let them go, right?”

“There are ways to deal with knowledge creatures other than fighting—escaping, defending, Mages have many options.”

“But without ever fighting, how do you acquire new Technique Spirits?”

Sonia laughed, picking up the dormant Technique Spirits from the ground, and casually said, “By learning, cultivating, researching!”

“People like us who can gain something every day in the Void Realm are actually very few. Most Mages get Technique Spirits by advancing their faction knowledge and thus resonating with the Void Realm, giving birth to new Technique Spirits.”

“The knowledge level is the fundamental for a Mage, diligent study is the correct path for Mages, whereas the way we fight and adventure is actually considered unorthodox. Academy Mages, with their orderly growth, often have a well-integrated Technique Spirits system, while we, adventurous Mages, have a messy system of Technique Spirits that is not as handy as the Academy Mages.”

“And we can’t skip classes either. When our Silver Wings are completely condensed, we will have to catch up on our lessons, to raise our faction realm—if we don’t have Gold Level faction knowledge, we can’t summon Two-winged Technique Spirits, we’ll only be swimming in the Sea of Knowledge forever and never be able to set foot on the Time Continent!”

Production is the king’s way, battle is the evil way?

Ash sighed softly, terrified of such a comprehensive Extraordinary System that required development in morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor—he knew himself, he was just an ordinary person with no sports talents, unable to memorize scholarly papers, and with no special talents other than paid bathroom breaks. If it wasn’t for sticking to the Sword Maiden in the “Aurora’s Mage’s Handbook,” he would have no chance of becoming a Mage.

Is there no Extraordinary System where you drink a Magic Potion and then digest it to advance!?

“Speaking of which, didn’t you mention before that there’s a golden fish in the Void Realm, and finding it could let us reach the Time Continent?” Ash asked.

“It’s just a rumor, and even the Observer doesn’t know where the golden fish is, how could I possibly know?” Sonia said as she quickly flipped through the Mage’s Handbook, jokingly adding, “You couldn’t be putting your hopes on the golden fish, could you? Then you might as well hope for a sudden prison riot tomorrow and escape in the chaos… Hmm hmm?”

Ash looked at Sonia, who was making strange noises, “What’s wrong? Another Mage’s Handbook that clashes with your views?”

“Well… I think you need to prepare well after leaving the Void Realm.”

“Why?”

“Because the prison might really riot!”

Sonia squeezed excitedly next to Ash, flipping the Mage’s Handbook to a page in the middle to show him.

It read:

“I found the golden fish.”

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