Mage Manual

"More tulips?"

In the office, Telozan saw Sonia come in with a bouquet of tulips and reached out to take them. Sonia smiled and said, "Your students asked me to deliver these to you."

"It's really a Miracle; I haven't received tulips from students for years, but ever since your appearance during the Meteor Disaster, someone has sent flowers through you every few days." As a Sword Saint, Telozan liked to speak straightforward things in a sarcastic manner, much like her mastery of the 'Hidden Hand Secret Blade.'

"Oh, Telozan sis~" Sonia hugged Telozan from behind playfully, "I'm your student too, can't I be the one giving them to you?"

This year, Telozan had been researching a new swordsmanship Miracle, which happened to need petals as material. When Sonia was studying here a few months ago, she noticed that Telozan would change the tulips every few days and realized what flowers her professor liked.

When Adelle wanted to sell out Telozan's preferences in exchange for some pocket money, Sonia claimed she liked tulips and then passed them on to Telozan, thus preserving face for the sender while providing Telozan with the tulips, resulting in a world where no one got hurt.

Of course, Telozan knew this but didn't mind, as she genuinely liked tulips. Perhaps because her personality differed significantly from her appearance, only Sonia knew this little secret until now.

As for what flowers the village girl herself liked... A love for flowers seemed like an urban pretentious hobby to her. Every spring, she could see mountains fully blooming outside the small town, already tired of them; unless the Observer could conjure a flower from the Void Realm, she felt nothing special about them.

Unable to handle the clinginess, Telozan changed the topic: "Do you know where I was called to this morning?"

Sonia sat down, curious and asked, "Where to?"

Telozan was not the bad professor who seized every chance to exploit her apprentices; it was the first time she had Sonia substitute for her class, indicating something urgent had come up. By her tone, it seemed like an arrangement from higher-ups.

"Kirian was seriously injured." Telozan's voice carried a trace of schadenfreude: "The Church arranged a Star Cluster Healing Array for him, and I was called to supply Magic Power. If you were more than a Sword Knight, you would surely have been called too."

Sonia paused for a long moment, finally bringing the name from her memory: "The headmaster of Truth University, honorary advisor of the Griffin Corps, lifetime honorary Mage at Star Extreme Hall, Viscount Kalia, Alchemy King Kirian Mogen Master?"

"Do you usually say a whole preamble before someone's name? Second-year student at Sword Flower University, champion of the Meteor Disaster, campus goddess with the most votes at this year's masquerade ball, Claw Claw Sword Saint Sonia Sevi Miss?" Telozan mocked.

Sonia couldn't help her surprise; the Alchemy King was the most famous mage of the past century, deserving the title of a Legendary Mage. In her remote hometown, the two most well-known people among the villagers were Dedarose and the Alchemy King Kirian!

The legendary stories of the Alchemy King are endless, and his Magic Faction alone speaks volumes — focusing on the Alchemy Faction known for creation rather than combat, he turned it into a powerful tool of offense. His classic Miracle, 'Turn Stone to Gold,' fascinated and terrified people; he once sealed an entire five-layer Abyss with the Miracle, turning every monster and the ground into gold. To this day, people still find gold from this Miracle in the Abyss.

As for why Telozan had a poor attitude towards Kirian, it wasn't because of any grudge they held; Telozan simply had a sarcastic nature indifferent to emotions, taking a wicked pleasure in others' misfortunes. It's not like a Legendary Mage could easily retaliate against her, so what was there to fear?

Don't be deceived by her affection towards Sonia now; if Sonia weren't a Holy Sanctuary Mage of the same level, Telozan wouldn't allow her within her intimate circle, treating her merely as a student at best. It was because Sonia had become a Holy Sanctuary Mage that Telozan actively engaged in gossip about Legendary Mages with her.

The village girl didn't mind the professor sister's personality; everyone has their own flaws. Telozan, like Lois and Adelle, with their small wickedness that doesn't negatively impact society, was quite easy to deal with.

"How did he get hurt?" Sonia asked curiously, "Not to mention the Holy Domain, I read in the 'Star Mage Report' that his Life Force and defenses rank in the top five among the entire Dazzling Star Mages!"

"The editor of the Star Report is just a Golden Mage; you should know how unreliable this newspaper is then," Telozan said. "However, Kirian's Defense Miracle 'Dark Gold Giant' does rank in the top five in the Dazzling Star. It can withstand any Legendary assault... if it is just Legendary level."

Sonia was stunned: "Could it be Demigod level?"

"It's the Divine Lord level!" Telozan laughed. "He was only 50 meters from the top of Ruby Mountain when the curse from the Heavenly Kingdom of Thousand Wishes corroded him, dissolving most of his soul, and when he returned to reality, he could only move his eyelids!"

50 meters!

Sonia was shocked; they had just broken through the 50th level in the Void Realm yesterday, and the Divine Lord's inheritance on Ruby Mountain was already within the final 50 meters of a sprint?

But compared to that, another term caught her attention even more.

"The curse of the Heavenly Kingdom of Thousand Wishes?"

Telozan placed the tulips in a vase, saying, "Each Heavenly Kingdom has its own curse. The longer a kingdom exists, the more intense and varied its curses become. Kirian's curse was said to be a slight remnant of 'Blood Fly Boil,' but it was enough to make him suffer terribly, not knowing how many years it would take to recover—Legendary Mages' souls are notoriously difficult to heal."

"A curse?" Sonia was at a loss. "Why do Heavenly Kingdoms have curses?"

"To explain that, we must speak to the nature of Heavenly Kingdoms," Telozan said. "In simple terms, Divine Lords have to snatch something from the Void Realm to maintain the existence of their Heavenly Kingdoms."

"But the Void Realm, having its things stolen, would obviously be displeased, so it curses those thieves unless they're willing to return what they stole."

Divine Lords, Heavenly Kingdoms, Void Realm, thieves?

Moreover, this mechanism of stealing from the Void Realm and thus being cursed by it gave Sonia a deep sense of déjà vu.

"Why would Heavenly Kingdoms—"

"My dear student," Telozan interrupted, "Have you forgotten that your professor is just a small, ignorant Holy Sanctuary Mage?"

"I'm also a Holy Sanctuary Mage, but compared to you, Telozan sis, I feel like an illiterate!" Sonia pathetically shook Telozan's arm. "Tell me~"

"I don't know much more than that and can't tell you, you brilliant student who gets nauseated by feigning modesty." Telozan poked Sonia's forehead.

"But how do you know about this, sister?"

"Because you're not the only one in this world to have serendipity," Telozan said casually. "Don't underestimate any Holy Sanctuary Mage; all Holy Sanctuary Legends have had their moments as protagonists."

Sonia asked, "Do you know a lot about 'Blood Fly Boil,' sister?"

"I just happen to know a bit," Telozan replied. "I encountered a Blood Moon Mage in the Distant Realm, who tried using a simplified version of this Miracle to attack me. He claimed that this Miracle stemmed from the Wonder 'Blood Fly Boil' created by the Extreme Master of Blood Moon, capable of quickly devouring the soul and expanding... after he finished explaining, I cut off his head with one strike."

Sonia found it odd: "How did the Wonder of the Extreme Master of Blood Moon become a Heavenly Kingdom's curse?"

"The following is mere conjecture without evidence," Telozan said. "If Mages are the most powerful creatures, and Divine Lords are the most powerful Mages, then a Divine Lord's attack Wonder..."

"...wouldn't it be the most terrifying curse found in the Void Realm?"