Mage Manual-Chapter 1406 - 1030: Interlude of Longing (Part 2)

On the Reverse Color Stairs, Freyja and the others stared blankly at the distant Ruby Mountain, deeply shocked.

Without relying on Ash, and without any information, they had somehow stumbled into the stealthy shortcut to becoming legendary!?

Even Siflin was at a loss for words; if it hadn’t been for Meiwa’s insistence, she wouldn’t have engaged in such a highly risky adventure. Now it seemed, if it weren’t for Meiwa’s absolute love, she might have forever missed this shortcut to instant success.

Although it felt a bit like a result-oriented way of thinking, Siflin couldn’t help but wonder—does this version favor couples for leveling up? Does the Void Realm favor love-struck minds? Should she also find someone to like?

But she was already a Holy Sanctuary Mage and might soon become a Legendary Mage. There were few in the Kingdom of Blood Moon who qualified to be liked by her, and the only one worthy of her affection was...

A figure surfaced in her mind, and Siflin promptly felt a shiver run down her spine, quickly shaking her head to dispel that dreadful thought. Being teammates with Meiwa was already tormenting enough; Siflin had no interest in deepening their relationship.

"Proceed cautiously," Tamasi advised.

To prevent any paranormal stories of someone suddenly missing, the four of them climbed hand in hand. As Ash would say, "Even if we die, at least someone will cushion the corpse bottom."

Yet the journey was surprisingly calm, with no monsters obstructing their path and no insurmountable obstacles. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

After a while, Freyja suddenly asked, "Tamasi, Siflin, are you... losing color?"

Not just Black Crow and the little bat, but Meiwa and Purple Moth displayed varying degrees of color loss, though the first two were more severe, with the lower body nearly losing all color; the latter two merely had leg discoloration, making it less noticeable.

"Don’t panic."

Hanna tightened their hands: "Color loss must be a test mechanism of the Reverse Color Stairs, yet since our color loss varies, it indicates there might be a way to ease the situation, perhaps even to replenish color. This mechanism surely isn’t unsolvable."

Having once been the head of the Funeral Service Office, now controlling the entire political system of Gospel, Purple Moth Hanna was unparalleled in insight, oratory skills, and courage. In times of unknown danger, she often managed to calm the group swiftly.

After a brief examination, Tamasi quickly noticed something amiss: "Look at our reverse color reflections!"

Since Freyja and the others were climbing the Reverse Color Stairs in a straight line, their reflections naturally moved directly along the Dream Stairs. As the reflections passed through the Illusion Mist, the mist would entangle with the reflection, but as their real selves were in the reverse world, they weren’t drawn into the Illusion Realm.

In the reflections of the four, the mist entangled Freyja and Hanna the most, and their color loss was the least, suggesting a causal relationship.

Contemplating, Siflin said, "The correct strategy for this stealthy shortcut seems to be letting the reflections entangle with as much mist as possible, enabling us to progress further on the Reverse Color Stairs."

They then took slightly longer routes, attempting to hit more mist with their reflections. As expected, the color loss not only stopped but even began to restore their color. Compared to before, the newly replenished colors were much more vivid, brilliant, and dreamlike.

Once the new color accounted for over 50%, Freyja suddenly asked, "Do you hear him calling me?"

"Isn’t it cheers...?" Hanna whispered.

"I see him; he’s right ahead, just ahead!" Tamasi suddenly broke free from them, spread her Void Wings, and urgently flew forward.

Siflin hadn’t had time to grab Black Crow, and Meiwa along with Purple Moth rushed out one after another. The little bat lowered its head, observing its reflection, which had entangled more mist due to flying, finally realizing the danger.

"Stop, come back quickly, these colors will... enchant us..."

Siflin pursued them with force. Perhaps due to the incomplete soul of the Blood Saint Clan, the mist’s colors affected her less, allowing her to barely suppress the emerging hallucinations and lights using Miracle.

Freyja and the others soon landed back on the stairs, standing bewildered, though their expressions varied, all seemed genuinely happy, evidently deeply entrapped in an illusion realm.

Upon catching up with her teammates, the mist color on Siflin exceeded 90%. Gritting her teeth, she activated Miracle "Blood Return", the intense pain almost knocking her unconscious, but it barely kept the allure of the illusion in check.

Unlike stereotypes, the Blood Saint Clan is a very pain-averse race; because of their physiological mechanism, they’ve lost their sense of pain, leading people to believe they aren’t afraid of it. But precisely because they can’t usually feel pain, when truly hurt, they find it even more unbearable.

In this world, there are no people who aren’t afraid of pain, only those accustomed to it.

"Wake up, the Reverse Color Stairs still have mechanisms we can’t handle..." Siflin’s voice was weak: "This time, let’s retreat and come back stronger next time..."

She reached out to embrace the three, intending to cast Miracle "Blood Return".

This is a secret legendary Miracle from the four research institutes, achievable only through blood magic of the Holy Domain realm, with only one effect: forcefully returning the mage from the Void Realm to reality, disregarding all area restrictions!