Mage Manual

Chapter 121: Chapter 111 Because of Love

“Are you sure you’re choosing number 4?”

“What else then? The first three all seem possible, but not completely so. In such cases, choosing ‘all of the above’ has a high correct rate, trust me.”

Sonia had no objections. She couldn’t be certain which was correct either, although she felt number 3 was more likely. However, predicting the future was highly unreliable when based on the past. Now, since the Observer insisted on choosing 4, they might as well—blame could be placed on him if they were wrong.

With a thought, Sonia checked option 4, and soon, the paper glowed with a rainbow luminescence as the text began to change—

“Congratulations, you got one question right. Would you like to continue?”

“Can’t believe we got it right!” Sonia was surprised.

“See, you did well to trust me.” The former college king of cramming, Ash, was very confident about blindly guessing on multiple-choice questions. “What’s the second question?”

After Sonia chose to continue, the page transformed to reveal the second question:

“Question · Multiple Choice: What is the reason for the Sword Maiden and the Observer’s reconciliation after their split?”

“1. For a greater benefit”

“2. To counter a common threat”

“3. Because of love”

“4. All of the above”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝονǤօ.сο

“This time it must be 4 again—”

“No way!” Sonia shook her head firmly. “3 is definitely wrong, so it can’t be 4.”

Ash spread his hands, his mouth curling up like a crescent moon: “Hey now, this is something that might happen in the future, not a certainty. Why so shy? Treat Fate with a normal heart when answering—”

Sonia was nearly roaring: “Sort out your feelings before you speak next time, you can’t even hide that smugness in your tone!”

After their argument, Sonia looked back at the question and after some thought said, “It should be 1, right? If it’s for a greater benefit, we could set aside any past disputes temporarily.”

Ash didn’t stir up more trouble and nodded seriously: “Indeed, 1 is the most likely, and the probability of having the same answer for two consecutive questions isn’t high.”

It wasn’t just because of some guessing rule; even by logic, Ash believed 1 made the most sense. First of all, the Observer and the Sword Maiden had already split; how could two people who had split possibly fall in love? What else but shared benefits could force them to unite?

Having spent many days together, Ash knew well that the Sword Maiden was self-interested, and as for himself, it went without saying—a former corporate slave wouldn’t talk about feelings over benefits, right?

After a brief discussion, Sonia decided to choose 1. As she focused her Belief, the text on the paper glowed with a murky light, which looked very ominous:

“You got it wrong. This concludes the Fate response. You may start asking your own question.”

Wrong!?

Both Ash and Sonia were stunned. Considering the remaining three answers, two included the option ‘Because of love’, which meant there was a two-thirds chance they would reconcile because of love in the future!?

“If you think about it, maybe option 2 is also a possibility? It’s quite likely for two individuals who have already split to let bygones be bygones in order to confront a common threat—”

“Mm-hmm, I think so too.”

Their awkward attempt to change the subject gradually shifted the atmosphere towards embarrassment, even bordering on being romantic. Sonia quickly steered the conversation elsewhere: “So, what’s your question?”

“Mine is straightforward,” Ash said as he looked down at the question.

“Question · Short Answer: Selin Dole died after seeing whom?”

“Why is it that you get multiple-choice questions, while mine are short-answer ones?”

“Probably due to the time distance,” Sonia guessed. “If the question is about something too far back, it’s completely impossible for me to deduce the correct answer with the information I have now. Fate will then give me several options to choose from, allowing at least the possibility of a correct guess. Your questions might be related to events very close to your present time, events you can speculate on by yourself, so you’re not given options.”

She paused, “This Selin, is it the behind-the-scenes criminal you mentioned before?”

“Yes,” Ash said. “So the answer is quite obvious.”

Ash’s thoughts stirred, and he filled in the answer: ‘Selin Dole died upon seeing Ash Heath.’

The font on the paper morphed into a rainbow glow: ‘Congratulations, you’ve answered one question correctly. Would you like to continue?’

After Ash operated the paper, the second question appeared:

‘Question · Easy: How did the Observer escape from the Kingdom of Blood Moon after the prison break?’

Ash shared the question with Sonia, who seemed confused, “No options? Without options, it means that you can figure out the correct answer with the information at hand. Did you guys have a plan for escaping after the prison break?”

“Does survival in the wilderness count?”

To be honest, Ash and the others hadn’t really thought about how to escape after breaking out—after all, once out, they would be on their own, each with their own plans. There was no need to discuss with others.

For someone like Ash, who was as blind as a memory loss patient, there weren’t many choices apart from turning into a wild man in the wilderness. But Igula, Lanna, Ronald, and even Harvey were all locals; they might even have private safe houses. Why share with fellow inmates?

“Do you know of any way to leave the Kingdom of Blood Moon?”

“Not a clue,” Ash said blankly. “Right now, I don’t even know where the borders of the Kingdom of Blood Moon are.”

Unable to figure it out, Sonia suggested, “Since we can’t come up with anything, we might as well choose from the most common methods. Either impersonate a legal identity and leave the country by normal transportation or find a smuggler and leave the country through illegal transportation, with smuggling by boat being the most common…”

“It’s impossible to impersonate a legal identity. Using transportation within the Kingdom of Blood Moon would definitely require a chip scan, and I wouldn’t implant a chip in myself after having it removed,” Ash said. “So it would have to be through illegal channels. And compared to land transport, which is easily intercepted, boat transport is indeed more likely… Alright, let’s go with boat transport!”

‘The Observer escaped from the Kingdom of Blood Moon by boat after the prison break!’

The paper emitted a puff of grey mist, as if mocking Ash’s incompetence:

‘You’ve answered incorrectly, the session with Fate is over. You may start asking questions.’

Ash and Sonia had anticipated this and weren’t too disappointed. After all, they had no clues and were wildly guessing based only on logic; the chances of stumbling upon the correct answer were too slim.

But Sonia was still puzzled, “That doesn’t make sense. If Fate posed a question a mage couldn’t answer, wouldn’t that just be bullying? You surely know how to leave the Kingdom of Blood Moon, you just can’t remember at the moment.”

“Perhaps the Void Realm just heard me curse at it for being cheap, so it deliberately targeted me.”

“Then you really had it coming… But even the Void Realm believes you can escape from prison and leave the Kingdom of Blood Moon, so it looks like you don’t have to worry about the Blood Moon Judgement.”

Ash thought to himself, that’s right. Not only this question, but the previous ones about ‘how Selin Carl died’ and ‘the Observer and the Sword Maiden’s fallout and reconciliation’ all indicated he wouldn’t end up like tomato paste in the Blood Moon Judgement. Otherwise, where would his future be?

That’s the greatest benefit of speaking with Fate—you can indirectly learn about your own future situation through the questions, which is of great value in assessing the current situation.

After the answer session ended, it was time for questions.

The two looked at the paper, and Sonia said, “We shouldn’t ask anything too outrageous. It’s best to keep it within the scope of the One-winged Silver. Although there’s little information about the workings of Fate, one principle is universal in the Void Realm—the return is proportionate to the investment. We’ve only answered one question correctly, so the reward given by the Void Realm will definitely not exceed this limit.”

Ash nodded, “The answer to this question should help us immediately increase our combat power. After all, the second Blood Moon Judgement is approaching, and any additional strength increases my chances of survival.”

At this point, both had a flash of inspiration and excitedly said to each other:

“Golden fish!”