Mage Manual

Chapter 85: Chapter 78 Werewolf (Fifth Update)

Inside the design studio, a bald muscular man was cutting fabric, altering patterns, and making prototypes, the entire room filled with an assortment of mannequins, fabrics, and fashion accessories. But it wasn’t messy at all; everything was neatly placed, even to the point of being pleasing to the eye.

“It passed! It passed!”

A young female inmate burst into the design studio, excitedly exclaiming, “Master Lanna, our design proposal was accepted, and the main style for Kay’s this summer will be your ‘Dream Bubble Shadow’ series! Congratulations!”

“This is an honor we share.” Lanna replied with a faint smile, “Annet, with this successful experience, you are now a qualified Clothing Designer.”

“It’s all thanks to your guidance, Master Lanna.” Annet bowed deeply, “If you hadn’t taught me without holding anything back, how could I have improved so fast? This is your honor, my contribution is negligible, I truly don’t deserve it.”

“Alright, enough with the formalities; if you don’t mind, join us for dinner tonight.” Lanna said, a smile curving the corners of his mouth, “With such good news, I have to share it properly with Ronnie.”

...

“Can I order food then?” Annet joked as well.

“Yes, but the total must stay within five contribution points.” Lanna winked, “Now, back to work, don’t think you can slack off just because Kay’s contribution points are coming in. Contribution points are something you can never have enough of, and you should try designing on your own. Maybe you’ll take charge of the designs for next quarter…”

“Okay, okay, I get it, Master Lanna, you’re perfect in every way, just too naggy.”

Lanna sighed resignedly and bent his head back to his work.

Annet looked at the pile of fabrics in front of her, her mind not on her work at all, as her attention quickly shifted to Lanna, and the more she watched him working, the more she felt he possessed an irresistible charm, the more she couldn’t hide her infatuated smile.

Unfortunately, he didn’t like women.

Annet sighed, feeling the world was truly too cruel. It was hard enough meeting someone she liked, but competing with women was one thing, how could she compete against men too?

She had been in Shattered Lake Prison for over a year, and like most inmates on death row, she lacked any survival skills beyond Criminal Law, and she certainly didn’t have the fighting ability for the Death Battle arena – which might be a blessing in disguise, sparing her from getting beaten to the point of questioning her existence by those wolf in sheep’s clothing brutes from the Death Battle Society.

Annet naturally didn’t dare bet that the citizens would let her survive the Blood Moon Judgement just because she was pretty – on the contrary, it was quite possible that destroying beauty was a deep-seated human impulse.

But this Kingdom was filled with perverts, not only among those sentenced to death in prison.

Learning a skill in prison that could earn contribution points was almost no easier than encountering a Vortex in the Sea of Knowledge.

Repetitive simple labor was worthless, one either needed ingenious unique skills, like the Beastman’s labyrinth toys, the Goblin’s bone carvings, or the ogre’s oil paintings – Annet had only learned after her incarceration that ogre oil paintings could sell for so much.

Aside from that, it was complex intellectual labor, such as writing, composing music, or handling tax work – because of the ‘harmlessness’ of death row inmates, Shattered Lake Prison’s accountants were especially popular with the wealthy, and as long as they survived the first Blood Moon Judgement, most inmates with actuarial, tax, or accounting skills could live decently in prison.

Annet naturally did not have the time to learn a skill, nor the mind for complex work. Just when she was close to giving up and waiting for death, wandering aimlessly through the prison, she accidentally walked into Lanna’s design studio.

The room was filled with fabrics and materials, and Annet’s eyes could hardly move away from the prototypes fitted on mannequins – the prison only provided plain white prison uniforms, and it had been so long since she’d worn nice clothes.

She looked around the design studio for a long time until a deep male voice came from behind her:

“Do you like this dress? Would you like to try it on?”

And just like that, she became Lanna’s assistant designer, an Apprentice Clothing Designer.

Those who knew Lanna found it hard to associate his appearance with the Profession of a Clothing Designer, but Lanna was in fact a highly valued exclusive designer for the prestigious Blood Moon fashion brand Kay, and nearly every one of his designs became Kay’s featured style for the season.

The fashionably dressed girls and young women had no idea that the designs they wore originated from a bald death row inmate.

While branding indeed played a role, Lanna’s ability to set fashion trends season after season was enough proof of his exceptional talent. Even Annet, who had never been exposed to clothing design before, grew step by step under Lanna’s mentorship, and now she and Lanna’s joint design proposal had even garnered Kay’s recognition!

Annet even began to thank heaven for her incarceration – if the past twenty years of her life had been a bleak Chaos, then Lanna was the brightest rainbow she had ever encountered.

Lanna’s personality, talent, eloquence, everything about him attracted her.

Even his baldness shone with the unique unrestrained radiance of an artist.

If she could stay with Lanna for life, she didn’t mind staying in prison. Compared to the murky society outside, the small prison was a better fit for a quiet design studio.

Unfortunately, he didn’t like that woman.

Every time she thought of this, a sharp sadness arose in Annet, one she couldn’t stifle. She had even considered going to the Medical Practitioner for a full-body gender reassignment – in the Kingdom of Blood Moon, gender was never insurmountable.

But it was hard to make such a decision, and Annet didn’t know if Lanna would mind someone who wasn’t originally male, and at that time Lanna was single, so Annet thought she might turn him straight through long-term affection. Wasn’t there a saying, “No matter how twisted a man’s intestines are, when hard, they’re straight”? Annet had confidence in her physical attributes and her ability to flirt.

If it weren’t for the chip that restricted any violent behavior, Annet might have even considered taking the plunge before securing consent.

Yet a year had passed, and Lanna had already found a new partner, and Annet hadn’t even touched Lanna’s bald head. Moreover, she had to dine with them every night, swallowing food along with the sour smell of their romance.

At that thought, Annet felt the fabric in front of her was that detestable man named Ronald, and she viciously cut him to shreds with the scissors.

Knock knock.

The door to the design room was pushed open, and Lanna looked up. His eyes narrowed into crescent moons and his cheeks dimpled with a smile, “Ronnie, what brings you here? Are you not feeling well, do you want me to accompany you to the treatment room?”

Ronald, pale-faced, shook his head, “I’m fine, Lanna. I’m here today because I need to talk to you.”

“To be precise,” a handsome man entered the design room, “we have something to discuss with you.”

Lanna’s expression cooled slightly, “‘Beautiful Beast’ Igula… Ronnie, he’s dangerous. Stay close to me. Igula, don’t think the prison can protect you. If you dare to hurt Ronnie, I have plenty of ways to make your life a living hell.”

Another person entered the design room, standing between Igula and Lanna, “Relax, Lanna. No one will get hurt here.”

Lanna’s smile was completely gone, “‘Goblin’ Ash, I thought that even if we weren’t friends, we definitely weren’t enemies.”

Ash chuckled, “We are friends, we were in the past, we are now, and we will be in the future.”

“Lanna, we’ve come to talk to you about cooperation.”

Suddenly Lanna raised a hand, “Annet, leave us.”

“Master—”

“Get out!”

Annet glared fiercely at Ash and the others before leaving with her lower lip bitten in anger.

Ash glanced at the closed door, “You should be able to guess why we’re here. We’re not here to discuss lurid topics amongst men; we don’t mind having an extra accomplice.”

Although Igula hadn’t announced his plans to escape with a megaphone, he had contacted several prison celebrities, and the message had already gotten out. As a ‘Gourmet,’ Lanna surely knew the purpose of Igula’s visit, which was why he deliberately sent Annet away.

Lanna didn’t pay attention to Ash, his blue eyes quietly gazing at Ronald, “Ronnie, is this your wish?”

Originally somewhat hesitant, Ronald found himself recalling the brutality on the Death Battle platform as he met those deep blue eyes. He clenched his teeth and made up his mind, “Lanna, I want to join Igula’s team and escape with them!”

“Ronnie, we can live well enough in the prison, the contribution I earn can ensure we are never selected for the Blood Moon Judgment—”

“But I want to leave!” Ronald raised his voice, “Lanna, do you want to leave with me, or stay here?”

Lanna was silent for a long time, glancing at Ash and Igula.

When his gaze swept over them, Ash felt goosebumps all over his body, a fear as if facing a natural predator arose, even fostering a desire to flee!

It was like… facing the Executioner himself!

“Ronnie, you know I can’t refuse a request from someone I deeply love.”

After a long pause, Lanna exhaled and said calmly, “Beautiful Beast, Goblin, as you wish, I, Lanna DeNio, am willing to follow your commands. But remember, if Ronnie comes to harm during the operation, you’ll have to accompany him in death.”

“Tell us your plan.”

“We haven’t assembled everyone yet, so we can’t reveal too much,” Igula said. “All I can tell you is that Ash has a way to disable the chip restrictions.”

Lanna looked at Ash with astonishment but said no more, “Who else do you need? I can offer my help.” @@novelbin@@

Igula shook his head, “No need, but first, you have to tell us what abilities you have after the chip is disabled. You might just fill a gap in our team, and we won’t need to seek new members.”

Lanna was silent for a moment, as if deliberating whether to reveal his secrets. Everyone waited quietly for Lanna’s decision.

Finally, he sighed, “Turn off all but one light.”

Once only a corner lamp was left on in the design room, Lanna walked into the shadows where the light could not reach, merging with the darkness.

“I am a Moon Shadow.”

Igula jolted, “Impossible, the Moon Shadow Clan and the Blood Saint Clan could never participate in the Blood Moon Judgment. The research facilities and the Church would never allow anything that could tarnish the reputation of both clans—”

“But I am the exception, because unlike my kin who need the light of the Blood Moon to undergo Moon Shadow Transformation, I must hide in the shadows to do so. Under the light of the Blood Moon, I can’t transform, so the Church doesn’t worry about me disgracing our honor.”

“Moreover, unlike my kin who resonate with the Blood Moon and descend into rage, I have never listened to the Blood Moon’s call. After undergoing Moon Shadow Transformation, I become more cruel, more rebellious, more… ruthless.”

With the agile steps of a Hunter, a two-meter tall Werewolf, covered in grey fur, stepped into the light.

Its piercing blue eyes made everyone feel as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.

“I am a traitor to the Church, a disgrace to the Moon Shadow, a beast even the Blood Moon despises. I am neither a pure Moon Shadow nor a devout human; every hair bristles with disloyalty to the Blood Moon.”

“They call me, the Werewolf.”

PS: This is the fifth update, the subscription goal hasn’t been met yet, but I’m betting we can reach 5000. Don’t wait up, if it’s met, an extra update will come tomorrow at 3 PM.