Mage Manual

Chapter 81: Chapter 74 Explorer (First Update)

Ash and Sonia sat in the small boat, reading intently from the mage’s handbook bound in cowhide.

Like the previous handbooks, this one didn’t record any personal information about the mage himself, so for now, they’d refer to him as “the Explorer.”

Why call him that? Because his greatest passion was exploring various natural landscapes, and the content of the handbook was about the various sites he had visited in the past.

“Lava Cave”

“After spending more than a year on the construction site, the third phase of the project finally ended. I should have time to visit the lava cave before the captain gets a new job.”

“When I arrived at the village closest to the lava cave, the captain said he had taken on a big project again, alas.”

“A few months later, I finally took the time to explore the lava cave again. I was lucky this time; I spent quite a bit of money to hire a local to take me inside.”

“It’s wonderful! The lava just flows on the ground, the pollen from the blooming flowers can ignite and explode, but inside the lava cave, there’s an ice-cold refreshing underground river… an unbelievable wonder!”

“I’m so happy, and so scared; I actually encountered a blue-fire female dragon that must have escaped from the Void Realm long ago and made a nest in the lava cave! Haha, I took a picture, the fee from just submitting it was enough to let me return to the lava cave again!”

The general format was like this; the Explorer often went through many difficulties just to start his journey, and sometimes he even had to interrupt his travels because of work, managing both the immediate needs and not forgetting poetry and distant places.

“He must be a civil engineer,” Sonia said, and Ash nodded deeply in agreement.

Living long on a construction site, working continuously when there were projects, and resting without income when there weren’t any, plus always traveling alone, the Explorer would probably remain single forever… Indeed, civil engineers from any world are much the same.

The first half of the handbook was about the various sites the Explorer had visited in reality, while the second half was about sites in the Sea of Knowledge—yes, for the Explorer, even the Void Realm was considered a tourist destination.

If they met a mage who liked fishing, Ash wouldn’t doubt he would fish in the Sea of Knowledge, but fishing there was extremely risky and offered minimal rewards: either the mages came up empty, or the knowledge creatures didn’t bite.

There were many points of interest in the Sea of Knowledge, including the “Vortex,” “Sea Waterfall,” “Great Road,” “Sky Bubble,” and other perpetual sites, some of which even Sonia had never heard of—because unlike the “Vortex,” they didn’t provide any benefits to mages, so Sword Flower University naturally wouldn’t teach about them.

“Sea Waterfall,” true to its name, was a waterfall that suddenly plunged down from the ocean’s surface; “Great Road” was a path that stretched across the entire Sea of Knowledge; “Sky Bubble” was a giant bubble floating in the sky that, when it appeared, made the surrounding white mist fade a lot.

The Explorer had personally witnessed these three sites; he had jumped into the Sea Waterfall to see what was below, only to die instantly and exit the Void Realm; he had run very far along the Great Road until he collapsed; he watched the Sky Bubble fly by, its speed so fast that he couldn’t keep up.

The text in the Mage’s Handbook was filled with the Explorer’s joy and excitement at witnessing the wonders of the world, and even Ash and Sonia couldn’t help but smile knowingly.

Finally, they turned to the chapter about the golden fish.

“Golden Fish”

“I searched through a lot of data, visited many scholars, trying to find out the location of the golden fish. But the golden fish is truly the Sea of Knowledge’s biggest secret, with very little information available, so I turned to novels about the golden fish—perhaps someone who found it couldn’t resist boasting and secretly hid the truth in a novel? I think it’s very likely.”

“Most mages and scholars think the golden fish should be in the most dangerous central area, but I have a different view: the Time Continent is carried on the back of the golden fish, a fish that big really wouldn’t fit in the central area, would it?”

“But until now, no mage has fully explored the central area; perhaps the Sea of Knowledge is far bigger than we imagine.”

“Only mages who fully spread the Silver Wings can find the golden fish? Very likely, I better complete the long journey soon.”

“I have already spread the Silver Wings and been to the central area, but I still can’t find any trace of the golden fish. Could it spend most of its time submerged in the sea, only occasionally surfacing?”

“Very likely, I decided to dive into the sea. I died.”

“Died.”

“Died.”

“I should retire too… My friends advise me not to go to the Void Realm anymore. At my age, if I die there, the damage to my soul will severely reduce my lifespan. The last time I died in the Void Realm, I almost died of brain death.”

“But I really want to see the golden fish… even if I die right after seeing it, I’d be willing…”

“Golden fish, where are you…”

“I think I’ve found the golden fish.”

Darn it!

Ash and Sonia almost wanted to drag the old mage they had just scattered and beat him up again — you didn’t leave the most crucial information! We want to know how you found the golden fish!

Give you two coins, complete the process for me!

“If it’s true, then the golden fish is too big. How could a normal person climb it? Luckily I’m an Earth Magic Mage, I can keep piling up the earth continuously. This height can’t defeat me, it seems I will see the true face of the golden fish in my lifetime.”

“Ten layers… fifty layers… one hundred layers… No, I need to rebuild the foundation, the golden fish is too high.”

“Two hundred layers… three hundred layers… five hundred layers…”

“Ah, if only I could fly.”

“When the height exceeded eight hundred layers, the pile of earth beneath my feet collapsed. Falling from this height, I fear my soul would completely shatter… The tombstone I prepared for myself finally came in handy.”

“Although there are still some regrets, at least I found the golden fish before dying, now I can rest easy… wait, I haven’t cleaned up my collection at home!”

The Mage’s Handbook ends here; the golden fish was the last Wonder the explorer pursued in his lifetime.

“So how did he find the golden fish?” Sonia was quite puzzled, “He had looked for so long before without finding it, how did he suddenly encounter it?”

“Maybe because he was too old?” Ash guessed, “Could it be that the golden fish only appears before mages who are about to die?”

After discussing for a while and reaching no conclusions, Ash and Sonia set aside the matter, as their Silver Wings had not fully condensed yet, and they were not in a hurry to find the golden fish.

The explorer dropped three Technique Spirits, all Earth Magic Spirits, which could form a Miracle together, but Ash and Sonia were not interested in Earth Magic. After discussing, Ash took them — the profession positions corresponding to the Earth Magic Faction weren’t great, so the value of Earth Magic Spirits was not high; even if Sonia sold them, she wouldn’t make much money.

As for the Mage’s Handbook, Ash felt the skills of a civil engineer were not helpful to him, so he gave it to the Sword Maiden.

After all, he had already consumed three Mage’s Handbooks, while it was the first time the Sword Maiden encountered one she could use; by both emotion and logic, it was her turn.

Actually, the skills provided by the Mage’s Handbook were rarely useful, such as “Counter Reconnaissance,” “Pleasure Secrets (only effective for females over two meters),” “Skin Stripping Mastery” — all these were little silly skills that wouldn’t improve life quality or add any points in a resume, unless the interviewer was a big truck over two meters tall.

This was Sonia’s first time absorbing a Mage’s Handbook, she seemed a bit nervous: “By the way, what does that last sentence ‘I haven’t cleaned up my collection at home’ in the handbook mean? Why would he care about his collection at home before he died?”

“Well, the explorer was an old single male after all, so he definitely had some unspeakable collections at home,” Ash shrugged, “As they say, body crushed and bones broken still not caring, but wanting to leave without blemishes in the world.”

While they talked, Sonia had absorbed the Mage’s Handbook, looking at Ash with a very strange expression.

“What skill did you get? Wood drilling for fire or wilderness survival? Or maybe a single’s cookbook?”

“No, it’s a very useful skill.”

“What skill?”

“Eye Insight. It allows me to more easily understand what others are thinking through eye contact,” Sonia said gloomily, “It seems the explorer met many different people during his travels, plus being old, he had experienced too many stories and seen through many hearts, naturally forming this skill.” @@novelbin@@

Ash was so mad he almost fell into the water.

That was exactly the skill he needed to escape!