Mage Manual

Chapter 82: Chapter 75: The Region with the Best Public Security in the Country (Second Update)

Shattered Lake Prison.

“If I’ve been hurt enough, I’ll just use my own hands to joyfully sever yesterday’s curse.”

Ash stared at the recharge screen on the light screen, lost in thought.

Yesterday’s Void Realm Exploration had yielded little, and Ash had finally found a “worthwhile” area, only to discover a Fish-Slicing Dragon inside.

He and the Sword Maiden fought desperately, but in the end, they failed to kill the Fish-Slicing Dragon. Cleverly, it behaved as if it intended to die together with them, then dived into the water. Before escaping, it managed to let out two farts, and those farts were wet with both soup and technique spirits.

Therefore, Ash and the Sword Maiden could only humiliatingly catch the Fish-Slicing Dragon’s farts and watch helplessly as it disappeared into the mist.

The offense wasn’t severe, but the insult was incredibly strong.

Once again, the Void Realm taught Ash a harsh lesson. He realized just how harsh a mage’s living conditions were; no wonder the death row inmates weren’t bothered about not being able to enter or leave the Void Realm—it truly was a place where effort might not lead to success, but giving up would definitely bring ease.

The difference between reality and the Void Realm was that reality was dominated by pay-to-play players in a trashy game while the Void Realm was dominated by lucky players in a trashy game. A normal mage’s experience was first getting beaten up by reality and then ravished by the Void Realm, fully experiencing the unevenness of the world.

The two technique spirits popped out by the Fish-Slicing Dragon weren’t great either, so naturally, Ash decided to use them for in-app purchases—as a player who had a hellish start in reality, he could only rely on in-app purchases to change his fate.

The problem arose when Ash suddenly realized, while recharging “Aurora’s Mage Manual”, that a one-winged technique spirit was only worth 8 points!

Just two days ago, it could still fetch 10 points!

What happened? Did the game system fix some Apple recharge issue and still charge me an Apple tax?

Five technique spirits only recharged 40 points, a full 20% less! @@novelbin@@

However, Ash could neither complain nor inquire, not because the game system hadn’t fixed the complaint module, but because their game simply had no complaint module…

But Ash also had some guesses—it probably related to his strength.

After passing through the Vortex, his Silver Wings were also more than half solidified. With the increase in his Magic Power, the power of his technique spirits naturally rose as well. For him and the Sword Maiden, the difficulty of exploring the Void Realm dropped significantly. The most obvious manifestation was the increase in ‘worthwhile’ and ‘a bit troublesome’ areas on the Void Realm Map, and ‘suicidal’ areas only appeared occasionally.

Once the Silver Wings unfolded fully, Ash feared he might achieve technique spirit freedom and harvest seven or eight technique spirits every night, potentially overwhelming the game system, with the first thing every morning being to pull a ten-pull to test his luck.

But that was clearly impossible.

Even if Ash’s brain, after years of being a social drone, had lost its imagination and he used all his thinking power on choosing what to have for lunch, he knew something was definitely off with the game system; it wouldn’t leave such an obvious loophole.

Obviously, to prevent number crashes, the game system’s method was to reduce earnings.

Or in other words, a taxation mechanism.

Ash estimated that after he advanced to a Two-winged Mage, the price of a one-winged technique spirit would lower to 5 points or even less. When he unfolded Three Wings, the price of a one-winged technique spirit might drop so low that he wouldn’t bother picking it up if it fell to the ground.

Ash strongly suspected that the game’s selling point might be ‘not a penny needed, all technique spirits recycled’; every technique spirit harvested could be directly recharged, giving players a feeling of ‘this game is so considerate’.

But as a player’s strength increased, the price of the low-level technique spirits he harvested would decrease. To improve the efficiency of making money, one would need to obtain higher-level technique spirits… Eventually, every player’s daily earnings would be roughly the same. As everyone knows, distributing money to everyone is like distributing to no one, so this tax mechanism essentially acts as an additional supplement to the sign-in system, effectively increasing players’ online duration.

“So, the greater the ability, the more taxes one has to pay…” Ash sighed and went out for breakfast.

As for the newly acquired 40 points, naturally, he wouldn’t touch it yet. He had already bought a Source Crystal Pack worth 30 points and lost the double reward for the first recharge. Therefore, Ash’s next small goal was the ‘pile of Source Crystal Packs’ worth 98 points.

Arriving at the Central Hall, Ash was surprised to find many people gathered here. There was even someone arguing with a prison guard at the front, which made Ash thrilled—could a prison riot really be happening?

He squeezed to the front and discovered that the hall’s light screen was broadcasting news:

“Heartfelt congratulations to Kaimon City for being rated the safest area nationally. Mayor Fernand attended the press conference and thanked everyone for their indelible contribution…”

Damn, this news is so sarcastic! What death row inmate would watch this news!

Upon closer inspection, Ash noticed a notice next to the light screen:

“Special Task Volunteer Recruitment”

“Requirement: Two-winged Combat Mages or above”

“Reward: After completing the special task, the prisoner’s sentence will be changed from ‘redemption’ to ‘deferred for five years,’ and they will receive a public position in the Government Affairs Hall, a house in the district of Kaimon City, and a one-time subsidy of 800 Gold Coins.”

“Number of participants: No limit”

“I, I am a Two-winged Composite Mage, with the Golden Wings fully unfolded, completely mastering the Fire Technique Faction and Wind Technique Faction, and I also know the Miracle ‘Dragon Annihilation Verse’! Why won’t you choose me?”

“I’m also here, and I’m a Two-winged Gun Master, a former member of the Blood Moon Hunter, with a distinguished record and solid roots. I just made a misstep that led me to Shattered Lake. It only makes sense to choose someone like me, a former hunter!” she exclaimed.

“But you can’t just refuse without a reason! There’s no limit on the number of people; why can’t you allow me to volunteer?”

“I actually don’t care about getting out of prison; I just want to do something to contribute to society. Why stop me from serving the country?”

The prison guard sitting at the registration desk upfront turned a cold shoulder, completely ignoring the job seekers’ wails and said coldly, “Next.”

Ash also wanted to register, but unfortunately, he wasn’t even a Two-winged Mage, so he didn’t even qualify to submit a resume. However, he was unwilling to leave and just stood aside watching helplessly, unsure of what he was waiting for.

“What a great opportunity, but you can’t seize it. Now, you look like a vulgar man who knows he isn’t qualified to court a woman, but hopes that a beautiful lady will suddenly turn blind and agree to spend a pleasant night with you.”

Ash glanced at Igula. “Aren’t you going to sign up?”

“I did sign up, but unfortunately, I wasn’t chosen,” Igula said, looking at the crowded registration point and shaking his head. “Luckily, they didn’t choose me; I have no confidence in surviving this special mission.”

“Do you know what the special mission is?”

“I don’t know—I’m guessing. I’ve observed that the chosen death row inmates mainly specialize in Water Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Skill, and Light Magic factions.”

“What’s special about these magic factions?”

“Let me put it clearly—The chosen death row inmates’ charges generally include these: repeated resistance to arrest, long-term evasion, a history of crime, and offenses in multiple cities.”

Resistance to arrest, long-term evasion?

Ash recalled the formidable strength of the Crime Hunting Hall’s Blood Frenzy Hunters and suddenly realized something: “Are they very adept at escaping?”

“Exactly,” Igula nodded. “This special mission probably doesn’t require fighting or socializing, but rather needs volunteers with extensive experience in evasion and survival. No matter how you look at it, it’s an extremely dangerous reconnaissance mission. It’s no surprise that the only people in Kaimon City who meet these criteria are all in Shattered Lake Prison.”

“Yet it turns out that there are missions that can pardon death row inmates,” Ash said. “Does this happen often? Have there been death row inmates who legitimately left through these missions before?”

“How could that be possible? I’ve lived here for over a year and it’s the first time I’ve seen it. I just asked some of the other long-term prisoners, and they too have never seen a mission that could pardon a death row inmate. Previous special missions at most rewarded death row inmates with some contribution.”

Igula narrowed his eyes slightly: “Speaking of proposals that pardon death row inmates, the Order Organization would definitely not approve of it, and the council would debate it for a long time… What immense interests must be involved for the Order Organization to pass such a dangerous proposal?”

“Order Organization?” Ash heard a new term.

“Don’t you know? It’s a faction in the council and is antagonistic to the Human Rights Association. The Human Rights Association advocates for humans as ends, all regulations should aim to protect people and not treat them as expendable items; while the Order Organization advocates for absolute order, regulations must be strictly upheld, and human emotional appeals need not be considered.”

“Most legislative proposals need to strike a balance between these two organizations to get passed. Like the Blood Moon Judgement, which is the result of many years of debate between the Order Organization and the Human Rights Association. The Order Organization wants the death row inmates to die as quickly as possible, while the Human Rights Association believes there is a chance for death row inmates to reform. Blood Moon Judgement allows some death row inmates to live and contribute societal value while handing the judgment power to the public, thereby gaining unanimous approval from the council members.”

Igula glanced at Ash: “Like your ‘enhanced’ Blood Moon Judgement the day before yesterday, the Order Organization definitely exerted a lot of effort… I forgot to mention, Councilor Professor Selin is a member of the Order Organization.”

Hearing this news, Ash’s desire to escape from prison grew even stronger—With such a villain fanning the flames outside, the law could no longer shield Ash.

“So, what exactly is the special mission?”

“A benefit sufficient to keep the Order Organization quiet, recruiting volunteers skilled in evasion and survival, coupled with the nearing spring-summer transition… Thinking it over, there seems to be only one possibility.”

Igula continued, “There appeared a stable Void Turbulence in Kaimon City, which might contain a passage to other realms.”

“If a stable Void Realm passage is found, that would indeed be a feat that could please the Blood Moon.”

…

…

Jiale City, Sword Flower University.

Besides Ingrid who went for an early morning run, the other three were in the dormitory.

Looking at Adelle, who was sleeping with a plush toy, Lois got out of bed, picked up the ice spring water spray and sprayed her face with it, reviving herself completely—it was indeed a harsh wake-up skincare routine.

By then, Sonia was already showering in the bathroom, so Lois had to wash her face and then apply a thick jelly mask, squeezing in some book reading time—she couldn’t use a sheet mask as the essence would drip down her chin.

To quickly become a Water Mage and retrieve the “Rushing Stream” Technique Spirit from Sonia, Lois had no choice but to reduce her skincare and makeup time to spare for cultivation.

During such moments, Lois always felt a mix of defiance and admiration for Sonia—how could there be such a scheming person in this world who had time to beautify themselves and still learn at a fast pace?

Suddenly, the Miracle Bracelet vibrated slightly. Lois pressed to check and saw it was a message from the meteorological station.

“Meteorological Mage announces that this week is the Week of Void Turbulence; the probability of encountering Void Realm passages in areas surrounding Jiale City has increased. Please report any discoveries of Void Realm passages or unidentified individuals immediately to the police department.”