From The Mage's Handbook: Gastronomic Chronicles
"Mastery of Common Recipes."
From The Mage's Handbook: Cat Care Diaries
"Expert in Cat Care," "Expert in Litterbox Maintenance."
From The Mage's Handbook: Fishing Secrets
"Master of Identifying Unknown Objects."
"Unbelievable. This fishing mage got so good at identifying unknown objects because he kept pulling weird stuff out of the river. But judging by his constant failures to catch any actual fish, he clearly doesn't have 'Fishing Mastery.'"
"But he's really good at hooking people," Sonia chimed in, plopping unceremoniously onto the sandy shore. Her flushed face and rapid, shallow breaths revealed both exhaustion and exhilaration. With a mix of complaint and excitement, she muttered, "He nearly killed me."
The fishing mage's weapon was an odd hybrid of a spear and a grappling hook, seamlessly transitioning between long-range and melee attacks. This rare multi-combat style made him a fearsome opponent, even as a single-wing mage. He fought both Sonia and Ash without missing a beat, exploiting every opportunity.
One particularly clever feint saw him use his long line to bait Ash into a defensive posture before pivoting to strike at Sonia's back. She was already engaged with his frontal assault, leaving her no room to evade.
If not for Ash quickly casting Sword Body Barrier to shield her, both of them would have been ejected from the Void Realm right then. Even with that intervention, defeating the fishing mage had been a grueling task. Ash was riddled with minor injuries, and Sonia's arm had nearly been skewered through. Thankfully, Void energy allowed rapid healing; otherwise, the fishing mage would have dispatched them easily in reality.
Other than his lack of actual fishing skills, the fishing mage was a perfect, well-rounded single-wing combatant.
Ash watched as the mage's handbook dissolved into smoke, signaling the impending collapse of the Legacy Island beneath them. He turned to Sonia, still seated on the ground, her semi-transparent body indicating a dangerously low level of soul energy. Extending a hand, he said, "Let's call it a night."
Sonia glanced at him and reluctantly took his hand to stand up. "I think I can handle one more fight."
"But I'm tired and don't feel like fighting anymore," Ash said with a chuckle. Stretching lazily on the small boat, he added, "There's no point pushing ourselves. Dying here would just make tomorrow's jailbreak harder. Let's sail to a safe zone and log out."
"Honestly, trying to find the Golden Fish in a single night was a ridiculous goal to begin with. Not achieving it is normal. If we had succeeded, I'd start questioning whether the Four Pillars Gods actually exist to bless me." He sighed dramatically and quipped, "This is all your fault, Sword Maiden. You and your talk of the Golden Fish set my expectations too high—now I'm let down, and it's entirely on you!"
Instead of snapping at his audacious blame-shifting, Sonia just stared at him in silence.
Sitting on the boat, she propped her elbow on her knee, resting her chin on her hand. Her long legs, accentuated by the black thigh-high stockings and stylish straps of her outfit, created a striking contrast against the dull grays of the Void Realm. The bold black corset and deep red skirt she wore added a vibrant splash of color to their surroundings.
Her silence unnerved Ash. "Alright, alright, my bad. Too arrogant. Want to hear a joke? So there's this bunny that meets a bear who's having… uh, digestive issues—"
"Quiet. I'm thinking."
"Thinking about what?"
"The Golden Fish," Sonia replied calmly. "I'm piecing together the clues we've found. Maybe we missed something important."
Ash waved dismissively. "Don't bother. Countless mages have searched for years and found nothing. You think they're all less talented or diligent than us? Even they have to level up their disciplines to unlock higher-tier Void realms. Chasing after the Golden Fish is nothing but an unrealistic fantasy—"
"But mages exist to pursue miracles," Sonia interrupted with a sly smile. Tilting her head, she added, "We're not in a hurry. Indulge me—let's try to figure it out together."
Ash sighed but ultimately relented, setting the boat on course for the safe zone. Folding his arms, he leaned back. "Fine, you win. Only because you look so good tonight."
"Thank you!" Sonia chirped. "Let's go over the new intel first."
Ash nodded. "From the three mage projections we defeated earlier, two handbooks mentioned the Golden Fish. The culinary mage dreamed of eating its flesh, while the fishing mage believed it could be caught."
"Honestly, I can't decide if the former was incredibly bold or the latter utterly insane," he added. "Who brings their fishing obsession into the Void?"
Sonia chuckled. "At least the culinary mage had some interesting insights. He visited a Fate Questioning Island and asked the Void if he could ever eat the Golden Fish's flesh. The answer was simple: 'No.'"
"So we know one thing for sure: the Golden Fish does not exist in the Void Realm as a physical, edible entity."
Ash continued, "The fishing mage, on the other hand, believed it hid underwater. He spent years fishing here, catching creatures like Mudfish Dragons and Slashfish Dragons, but never saw the Golden Fish. He even tried diving, only to find pitch-black depths—and he didn't survive for long."
"From that, we can conclude: we can't dive into the sea to find the Golden Fish either."
Sonia mused aloud, "And according to the Fate Questioning Island, the Golden Fish is visible without any special rituals and is always floating on the sea's surface."
Ash ticked off points on his fingers. "So: the Golden Fish floats on the surface, isn't made of flesh, and can be seen directly… Wait a second, I've got it!"
"What?"
"These white mists!" Ash exclaimed, gesturing to the dense fog surrounding their boat. "They're on the surface, you can't eat them, and we can see them plainly. Maybe the mist is the Golden Fish!"
"Be serious."
"I am!" Ash leaned back with a smirk. "Even if we don't find golden energy, I'm not dying during tomorrow's jailbreak… probably."
Sonia's eyes flickered with emotion. "Who cares about you? I just want to see the Time Continent already. Staying in the Knowledge Sea isn't helping my energy levels grow."
"Got it, got it. My bad for being narcissistic," Ash said, grinning. "By the way, what were you doing during that one-hour break earlier tonight?"
"Drinking with Leonie."
"That senior who beat you to a pulp last time?"
"She didn't beat me! I won that duel—and it was your fault I had to fight her in the first place!" Sonia retorted.
"Sure, sure. Wait, you're old enough to drink?"
"Obviously! I'm an adult," she shot back, exasperated. "Leonie told me some fascinating stories about the Abyss."
"Like?"
"For instance, there's a rare creature called the 'Shadow Wraith.' It's intangible, uses soul attacks, and is tricky to deal with. But its weakness is light—if you shine a light source to cast its shadow, attacking the shadow damages the real body."
"There's also the terrifying 'Eyeball Stalker.' Its body is nearly indestructible, and it freezes when looked at. But as soon as you break eye contact, it rushes forward to pierce your eyes. Leonie and her team were lucky to spot one from a distance and escape."
"And then there's the 'Devourer.' It disguises its stomach as an ordinary cave. When mages wander in, it seals the 'cave' and releases potent stomach acid. Most silver mages can't break out in time and dissolve into nothing…"
Sonia spoke with bright enthusiasm, but Ash's face darkened as she continued. Suddenly, he shot upright.
"Wait. Did you say a creature disguises its stomach as a cave?"
"Yeah. They're called 'Devourers.' Why?"
"I think… I've seen something similar."
Sonia blinked. "Similar?"
Ash turned his gaze upward, staring into the endless fog.
"What if," he said slowly, "we're inside the Golden Fish's stomach?"